Rockaway Beach, MO

Rockaway Beach sits on Lake Taneycomo in Taney County, north of Branson, where the White River enters the Ozarks. The lake was formed by Powersite Dam in 1913, and the new shoreline helped turn the settlement into one of Missouri’s early resort towns. Developer Willard Merriam bought more than 60 acres for a planned summer resort; a post office followed in 1919, and boat docks, hotels, restaurants, a dance pavilion, and a swimming area grew along the water. The name is generally understood as a transfer from Rockaway Beach, New York.

Today the city’s daily map is a mix of lakefront streets, homes, marinas, fishing access, and roads into Branson and Hollister. Lake Taneycomo is cooler than it was during the lake’s early resort years, but it remains a major draw for anglers, boaters, and visitors moving through the Branson area. Branson R-IV School District serves local students, while nearby Branson supplies the larger theater, shopping, and employment network. Rockaway Beach still has the feel of a waterside town whose history began with a speculative shoreline and grew around the boats that reached it.