Rockbridge 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 northern

Ozark County Ozark County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,553. The largest city and county seat is Gainesville. The county was organized as Ozark County, named after ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, United States. It is the site of an old mill on spring-fed Spring Creek, a tributary of Bryant Creek, which still houses the post office. It lies twelve miles north of Gainesville on Missouri Route N, approximately one-half miles north of Route 95. The narrow valley floor is only about wide and at an elevation of and the Ozark ridges on either side are higher.''Rockbridge, Missouri,''7.5 Minute Quadrangle, USGS, 1973

History

The town was founded in the 19th century by pioneer families from Marion County, Kentucky, led by Captain Kim Amyx. The community was burned down during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

and rebuilt after the war.''A History of Rockbridge''
/ref> A post office called Rockbridge has been in operation since 1842. The community was named for a natural rock crossing at a nearby spring. Rockbridge was once the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

of a greater Ozark County, encompassing today's Ozark and parts of

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

and Howell counties. Rockbridge Mill 2

Springs

This community is in a

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathe ...

region, with caves, springs, and natural stone bridges nearby. Four springs feed the mill pool and Morris Spring, which forms a small pool along the road below the dam. The Rockbridge Spring has a flow of and the Morris Spring has a flow of . The springs flow from the contact between the Roubidoux sandstone and the underlying Gasconade dolomite. The community is now owned by the ''Rainbow Trout & Game Ranch and Rockbridge Gun Club'', founded in 1954, and includes a

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salm ...

fish hatchery. About five miles to the northwest above the Bryant Creek floodplain in Douglas County is Assumption Abbey, a Trappist

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

Rockbridge Road

Rockbridge was a central point along the old Rockbridge Road (or Rockbridge–Springfield Road) established before the Civil War as a freight road between

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

and Springfield. The road was used first for the transportation by wagon and ox team of

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

from the

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s of Arkansas to the growing market in Springfield. Following the railroad's arrival to Springfield, the freight usage shifted to

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

which was hauled from northeast Arkansas to Springfield by

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two po ...

team until after the Civil War.''Pioneer Rockbridge Road connected Springfield with Arkansas,'' Ozarks Mountaineer Magazine, July 1958, page 15
/ref>

References

External links

Rainbow Trout & Game Ranch and Rockbridge Gun Club

Assumption Abbey
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Ozark County, Missouri Unincorporated communities in Missouri