Merriam Woods, MO

Merriam Woods is a Taney County city incorporated in 1986 along State Highway 176, about two miles northwest of Rockaway Beach and Lake Taneycomo. Its name sits in a cluster of old lake-resort places: Rockaway Beach was founded by Willard Merriam as a summer resort, with early visitors arriving by railroad and then by boat. Merriam Woods is a separate community from that lakefront town, but the Ozarks water-and-tourism map is the backdrop. Today it is part of the Branson micropolitan area, a compact place whose clearest landmarks are the highway, Rockaway Beach, and the lake nearby.