Roaring River Area: Cassville

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I have several family connections to Cassville, and it was where my family often bought groceries and dined out when we had a vacation home over on Table Rock Lake.  Unlike the busy resort of Eureka Springs in Arkansas, Cassville is a quiet working community that offers easy access to the Roaring River area.  The map links to various locations mentioned below.

Caves

There are two caves at Cassville. Ash Cave is right off Missouri Y north of town and has a natural arch.  It has reportedly been used in some commercial films, but it is also a hang out for the nearby high school, so it can look a bit grubby. Another is Crystal Caverns, which my parents and I visited many years ago. At that time there was an overqualified cave scientist working there, digging out the mud, and he gave us one of the best of the two dozen or more cave tours I’ve been on. There wasn’t all that much to see, but he sure knew his stuff and made the tour memorable. Crystal Caverns has since closed.

Shopping

When I was little, there was a general store called Johnston’s off Courthouse Square which was a hodgepodge of items.  I remember this was painted on the side of the building:

There ain’t no place
like this place
anywhere near this place
so this must be the place!

and their promise up on one wall:

If you can’t find it, we haven’t unpacked it yet!

Like most small town general stores, Johnston’s died years ago, and the building is now a Westco Home Furnishings store. So you’ll have to settle for the Wal-Mart Super Center off Missouri 37.

When I was little, Cassville had two grocery stores: Ramey’s and Milgram’s.  Milgram’s is gone, but Ramey’s is still there with a “new” store that seems pretty nice.

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