Alley Spring is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Shannon County,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, United States. It is located six miles west of Eminence on Route 106. The scenic Alley Mill, or "Old Red Mill" is located there on a spring and is located in the

Ozark National Scenic Riverways The Ozark National Scenic Riverways is a recreational unit of the National Park Service in the Ozarks of southern Missouri in the U.S. The park was created by an Act of Congress in 1964 to protect the Current and Jacks Fork rivers, and it was fo ...

. The Mill is operated as an Ozarks history museum. Nearby a

one room schoolhouse One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...

and general store add to the feeling of the restored historic hamlet. It once had a post office, but it is now closed and mail now comes from Eminence. The community is named after John Alley, a

miller A miller is a person who operates a Gristmill, mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Mill (grinding), Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surname ...

. It was originally named Mammoth Spring and later Barksdale Spring. These names were deemed too long by the

Post Office Department The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, in the form of a Cabinet department, officially from 1872 to 1971. It was headed by the postmas ...

of the time, so the village was renamed after a prominent local citizen, John Alley.

History

A post office called Alley was established in 1884, the name was changed to Alley Spring in 1950, and the post office closed in 1974. The community has the name of John Alley, original owner of the town site.

Geography

The

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

operates a large campground at Alley. There is a small convenience store and canoe rental as well. Canoeing is very popular on the Jacks Fork River which runs through Alley.

Arts and culture

The Haunting in the Hills is an annual event held at Alley Spring. It consists of traditional Ozark demonstrations and a storytelling event, Tales from Ozark's Dark Side. The annual event takes place the second weekend of October. All Events are free to the public.

Gallery

File:Alley Spring mill cfriese1.jpg, The mill at Alley Spring is now part of the

park. File:Alleyspring111.jpg, The mill from the spring File:Alley Spring in November 2021.jpg, Alley Spring in the autumn, facing the mill File:Alley Springs Mill in November 2021.jpg, Alley Springs Mill in autumn

References

External links

Ozark National Scenic Riverways - has much history of AlleyAlley Spring, commercial site
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Shannon County, Missouri Unincorporated communities in Missouri Bodies of water of Shannon County, Missouri Springs of Missouri