Posted on Jul 28, 2023
How Missouri made the Lake of the Ozarks: Crimes, sunken homes and dreams of a Midwest oasis
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With more shoreline than the coast of California, the Lake of the Ozarks in mid-central Missouri is a popular tourist destination for land-locked Midwesterners. For decades, it's provided financial opportunities for locals and outside interests alike — but at what cost? The story of how this man-made body of water came to be involves corruption, jail time, communities torn apart, and displaced families.
How Missouri made the Lake of the Ozarks: Crimes, sunken homes and dreams of a Midwest oasis
Posted from kcur.orgPosted in these groups: State of Missouri
American History
American History
Posted 9 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."“The reality is that a lot of rich people have come down here and they’ve enjoyed the Ozarks. But to me, that’s capitalism, right? I think that that’s a good thing,” said Lucas. “Because, guess what? A rising tide lifts all ships.”
Joy Peek — wife of the late Dan William Peek — says her family has been living in the area for generations. To her, all of the recent changes feel more complicated.
“It just truly has become urban from what used to be rural hillbilly area,” she said. “I like the quiet…Of course I guess you also look at it, if you’re a local that owns a business, you look forward to those people coming. You want them to come.”
Sailboats cruising along Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks.
Missouri State Archive
Sailboats cruising along Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks.
It’s hard to say what the lake and surrounding areas will look like in another 100 years. New developments like Oasis at Lakeport, a multi-million dollar resort set to open in 2024, are stirring up some of the same tensions prevalent during the lake’s origin.
True locals, long-time lake-goers with vacation properties, and weekend warriors hitting the clubs — they all have different ideas of who the lake belongs to, and what it’s for.
“When they were building the Lake of the Ozarks they wouldn’t have had a clue that they were causing this change,” says Van Landuyt. “Not that it’s good or bad, but it’s gonna change.”"
..."“The reality is that a lot of rich people have come down here and they’ve enjoyed the Ozarks. But to me, that’s capitalism, right? I think that that’s a good thing,” said Lucas. “Because, guess what? A rising tide lifts all ships.”
Joy Peek — wife of the late Dan William Peek — says her family has been living in the area for generations. To her, all of the recent changes feel more complicated.
“It just truly has become urban from what used to be rural hillbilly area,” she said. “I like the quiet…Of course I guess you also look at it, if you’re a local that owns a business, you look forward to those people coming. You want them to come.”
Sailboats cruising along Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks.
Missouri State Archive
Sailboats cruising along Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks.
It’s hard to say what the lake and surrounding areas will look like in another 100 years. New developments like Oasis at Lakeport, a multi-million dollar resort set to open in 2024, are stirring up some of the same tensions prevalent during the lake’s origin.
True locals, long-time lake-goers with vacation properties, and weekend warriors hitting the clubs — they all have different ideas of who the lake belongs to, and what it’s for.
“When they were building the Lake of the Ozarks they wouldn’t have had a clue that they were causing this change,” says Van Landuyt. “Not that it’s good or bad, but it’s gonna change.”"
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