Willow Springs, MO

Willow Springs is a Howell County city in the Ozarks, sitting along Route 137 near the shared U.S. 60 and U.S. 63 corridor. The 2020 census counted 2,164 residents. The name comes from a spring surrounded by willow trees, though the spring that first supplied the name is about nine miles east of the present town site. In 1868, the post office moved to Ben Carter’s store, and the name moved with it.

The railroad finally fixed Willow Springs in its current position. The Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis line reached town in 1882, joining the road network that already carried people through southern Missouri. Timber, sawmills, farms, and the Frisco rail connection all helped shape the city’s working map. Today, Willow Springs Public Library and the local school district give the place a civic center, while Route 137 points toward the Ozark roads beyond town. Willow Springs has one of those names that sounds simple until you follow it backward, from a tree-lined spring to a post office, a store, and a railroad town.