Exploring Garber, Missouri, and its forgotten history

Remains of the home where Millie Cox lived. She was the daughter of Joel Garber who established the first post office in Garber in 1895.Photo byFacebook/Life in Garber, Missouri 1895-1956.

Garber is an unincorporated community about four miles northwest of Branson, Missouri in Taney County. It's in the Ozarks in southern Missouri and was situated along the Missouri Pacific Railroad line that followed Roark Creek. Population indicates no results according to World Population Review.

Most likely, this small community was named after Joel Garber who moved to Roark Creek and with his family in the early 1890s. Eventually, Garber became a leader in the community.

In 1895, a post office was established by Garber which continued to operate until 1956. He was the postmaster until the fall of 1901. In 1904, the Garber family relocated to Colorado.

The next postmaster was William Fronabarger, who relocated the post office to where he lived on the banks of Roark Creek. He even donated some land in 1903 for a school building.

By 1906, the post office was moved again but still on the banks of Roark Creek. In the following year, John Ross became the postmaster. He's also the man on whom The Shepherd of the Hills' character, Old Matt, was based. In 1923, a new postmaster took over, and Ross along with his son and others built a home in Garber. They also built a general store, post office, and blacksmith shop.

Mr. and Mrs. John Ross in 1918 in Garber, Missouri (cropped).Photo byFacebook/Life in Garber, Missouri 1895-1956.

When Ross wrote a newspaper column, he let readers know what was going on in Garber. By the late 1920s, however, things were slowing down. In January 1928, Cornelius and Ada Clodfelter left Springfield and moved to Garber. They acquired the town and their goal was to restore it because of its connection with The Shepherd of the Hills. Mrs. Clodfelter did everything she could to bring life back into the community.

Unfortunately, in September of the same year the Clodfelters moved to Garber, the general store and post office burned down. Oddly enough, a man named Ray LeCompt who had allegedly been stealing money orders, was arrested for starting a fire at the post office. He was attempting to burn evidence.

A church building was built by the Clodfelters, and sadly, Mrs. Clodfelter died after the work was completed. Interestingly, her service was the only one ever held in the church.

The post office began operating out of a mercantile and store until the people in Garber decided it should be run from the new building built by the Clodfelters, and it did until 1956.

That stone building is the only building that still stands where Garber was, although the school building is still a mile away.

The Garber School building completed in 1904.Photo byFacebook/Life in Garber, Missouri 1895-1956.

Garber couldn't grow because the population kept decreasing. Once the Branson School District took over, the school in Garber wasn't needed. With highways being built, passenger rail traffic dwindled.

The post office had shut down because hardly any families were using it, and the pay was under $18 per month.

Joel Garber and his wife, Martha, had five sons and four daughters. Joel died on September 24, 1909, at age 78. Martha died on August 30, 1921.

For more interesting images, visit the Facebook page of Life in Garber, Missouri.

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