“Approaching from the east, the railroad’s contemplated entry was similar to the existing tracks, which now extend(s) across back of Drury College, and on into the south. The incoming railroad asked the citizens to contribute $10,000 as sort of a bonus for coming into their town. Their request was refused on the grounds the railroad had been granted a franchise to come through Springfield, and they must do so. To this the railroad responded they did not have to come through the town, and they would build where they pleased. …when the Frisco proposed the west shops they asked the citizens to contribute $50,000 to purchase the building sight (sic), the citizens gave the money.”

Thus, when Springfield’s population numbered some 5,000 with the Public Square at its center, the railroad came rolling into town, prompting a couple of forward-thinking real estate developers named Harwood and Robberson to offer the railroad a right-of-way a mile and a half north of the square, a strip of land 200 feet wide on both sides of the right-of-way, and forty acres upon which to building the shops and round house. The first train pulled into town on April 21, 1870 and North Springfield became a reality. 

The community drew in workers from diverse corners of the world: Germany, England, France, Denmark, and primarily Ireland. Commercial Street was the center of the North Springfield community, and the First Congregational Church’s 100^th anniversary booklet offers this perspective of the early days:

                “…perhaps thirty small frame business houses, strung along on either side of an eighty-foot space labeled ‘Commercial Street.’ With probably as many residences scattered around in the brush.

                “Of the ‘business houses’, thirteen were saloons, and every saloon had an annex of a gambling den or worse. A wagon track wound its way along Commercial Street, avoiding the stumps and rocks as best it might. All told there were probably three hundred people who had built houses and settled more or less permanently. But there were hundreds of men engaged in grading the railroad yards, building the freight and passenger depots and erecting the Ozark House, a frame hotel of one hundred rooms.”

In these “modern days”, North Springfield continues to embrace its history and legacy. Many of the Commercial Street buildings with their original ornate cornices and design remain, and have recently enjoyed a “bump” in values as new businesses thrive and loft-dwellers flock to the street. In the early 1980’s, the area gained recognition on the National Register of Historic Places, and now benefits from the historic tax credit programs available to re-developers.   Neighborhood Associations have been very successful in promoting their neighborhoods in north Springfield. Midtown has emerged as a crown jewel of the city, with its Victorian-era mansions, railroad-era cottages, and tree-lined streets, and gracefully shares its residential areas with educational institutions OTC, Drury University and Central High School, “jewels” in their own right.  

Throughout the years, in fact, North Springfield has been a center of the area’s community life, housing a majority of higher educational institutions (Evangel University, Drury University, Burge School of Nursing, Central Bible College, and Baptist Bible College). North Springfield also has historically been home to many major employers in the area (Frisco/BNSF Railroad, Zenith, Lily Tulip, Associated Wholesale Grocers, Springfield Regional Airport, and Litton Industries). Where are the City, County, and State government offices and City Utilities main office? North Springfield! 

Vehicle traffic enters the city from all directions, but the I-44 corridor in North Springfield is one of the primary ways visitors enter our city—and many visitors’ first impressions of Springfield are those of North Springfield. The heavy traffic and frustrating delays of motorists in the retail-heavy areas of south Springfield are quite rare on the streets of North Springfield.

Along with the railroad, North Springfield can boast a myriad of transportation companies employing scores of persons, not the least of which is Prime, Inc., a nation-wide carrier with some 2000 tractor/trailers transporting goods from coast to coast. Whereas the southern portion of Springfield has been primarily comprised of residential and retail occupancies (and now a burgeoning medical community), north Springfield has primarily been a happy marriage of residential and commercial uses. 

What about recreation? There’s never “nothing to do” in North Springfield! Sports facilities abound – is it golf you’re looking for? You can head north to the Bill & Payne Stewart Memorial 18-hole public golf course, or the nearby lighted 9-hole executive course Oscar Blom. Try Springfield Golf & Country Club where you can enjoy apartment life right on the course! Have kids in soccer or baseball?  Cooper Park and Lake Country Soccer Complex are convenient in northeast Springfield. Into biking or trail-walking? Some of the best opportunities wind through north Springfield on the Ozark Greenways’ Frisco Highline Trail and the Sac River Trail. Try ice-skating at Mediacom Ice Park downtown, or spend a relaxing lunch hour strolling the beautiful Jordan Valley Park. In north Springfield, we’re serious about having fun, and the park system serves us well!

This growth and development in north Springfield has not been achieved solely through the efforts of entrepreneurial efforts; the City of Springfield’s efforts include formation and partial funding of the Urban Neighborhoods Alliance. 

The U. S. Postal Service declares St. Louis Street and College Street as the meridian between north and south Springfield, putting Downtown Springfield on the dividing line. It might be said that Downtown Springfield is benefitting from a resurgence of interest in Uptown (the Commercial Street Historic District), or vice versa. What’s indisputable is that Springfieldians from all areas of the city are enjoying the exciting changes in both these districts! 

Downtown development has taken place in a variety of sectors, ranging from first-class restaurants to toney retail shops, from planned developments of green spaces to nano-technology centers (The Idea Commons and JVIC), from the raucous (the annual St. Pat’s Day Parade) to the sublime (First Friday Art Walk). Springfield’s History Museum, the Historic Gillioz Theater, Springfield’s Creamery Arts Center—these all are evidence of the pride citizens take in their history, and in the fine arts. 

As the enrollment at Missouri State University, OTC and Drury University increases, the need for Center-City housing increases, and developers have responded by building condominiums and by rehabilitating time-honored structures to combine loft living spaces with retail establishments.   Parking garages, movie houses, coffee shops, bistros, theaters—oh my! Downtown Springfield has got it going on!

“Pride of ownership” is a phrase we hear often in Real Estate terms—come to North Springfield, and experience an area full of pride in the heritage, progress, and future growth we all share as Springfieldians.