Missouri's Irish Wilderness

[bvp81]

Very Cool Article.

[2sheds]

Thanks for the article. I also love this stuff. Here are a few more story lines.

I was told that the top of the Narrows was developed as a scenic overlook. Today you can still find the old concrete picnic tables along side the overlook toward Sullivan & Blue to the southeast and toward Frederick to the northwest. For those of you that float by Morgan Spring its worth a hike up the trail to the top (about 2 beers long).

One more bit of trivia - Back before Brian & Ryan owned Eleven Point Canoe Rental, a woman worked there who told me a story. She said that during the unlawful times surrounding the Civil War (War for States Rights), a male ancestor (great grandfather ?) was strung up by bushwackers (or jayhawkers) for selling grain to the wrong side. His girlfriend found him and cut him down before it was too late. They married and became owners of the Morgan Spring.

There is lots of interesting history in the Irish Wilderness and along the Eleven Point. For those who want to dig deeper, check out Trail of Tears, Devil Dick Boze, Christmas Massacre, and a host of other Civil War times topics, plus the visitors from Liverpool in 1964 at the Pigman Ranch.

[Danoinark]

Great Stuff!

[Ozarkroots]

That place looks awesome. I live 3 hours from the 11pt...is there a place to put in a jet boat near there? There may not be enough water for a jet though.

[Al Agnew]

The Eleven Point has a 25 HP limit, not sure where the limit ends but it's in the Wild and Scenic Rivers section.

Cool article. I love collecting old articles on the Ozarks, and have a number of them. I wish I knew of some kind of archives of the big three hunting and fishing magazines, Field and Stream, Sports Afield, and Outdoor Life, that would give one access to the contents of the magazines pre-1970, because there were quite a few articles on Ozark stream fishing back in those days. I have a few old issues with such articles, but I know there are a lot of them I don't have.

[gotmuddy]

Hwy 142 bridge marks the end of the hp limit. anything upstream must be 25hp or less.

when we went down the creek a few weeks ago going up the narrows would be next to impossible.

[Mark]

I too love reading the history of the area. Several new members have joined OAF since I started a thread a few years ago about the history of the Eleven Point area and Oregon County, which turned into a lengthy thread with lots of great stories and personal antedotes (ex. Thomasville had an extraordinary men's baseball team in the early 20th century, including a couple guys who ended up playing for the St. Louis Browns.) Maybe we should start it again.

[MississippiAngler]

Jet boat? Seriously?

Idea: Save the jet boat for another location. The Eleven Point is best enjoyed from a paddle-powered boat with a friend who doesn't whoop, holler, get drunk and fall out of the canoe and who doesn't yell "show your t*ts!" to every female who passes in a canoe.

Seriously, the Eleven Pont is a rustic river. Keep it clean (of trash and of trashy behavior). If you must put a motor on that beautiful river, observe the 25 hp rule. If that doesn't work for you, I highly recommend the Spring River a few miles away. When you go there, yelling "show your t$ts!" to passing women means you've got experience on that river and are, in all probability, a regular.

[gotmuddy]

Jet boat? Seriously?

Idea: Save the jet boat for another location. The Eleven Point is best enjoyed from a paddle-powered boat with a friend who doesn't whoop, holler, get drunk and fall out of the canoe and who doesn't yell "show your t*ts!" to every female who passes in a canoe.

Seriously, the Eleven Pont is a rustic river. Keep it clean (of trash and of trashy behavior). If you must put a motor on that beautiful river, observe the 25 hp rule. If that doesn't work for you, I highly recommend the Spring River a few miles away. When you go there, yelling "show your t$ts!" to passing women means you've got experience on that river and are, in all probability, a regular.

I intend to build a wooden boat this winter and one of the first floats I want to do in it is riverton to the narrows.

[Coldspring]

Jet boat? Seriously?

Idea: Save the jet boat for another location. The Eleven Point is best enjoyed from a paddle-powered boat with a friend who doesn't whoop, holler, get drunk and fall out of the canoe and who doesn't yell "show your t*ts!" to every female who passes in a canoe.

Seriously, the Eleven Pont is a rustic river. Keep it clean (of trash and of trashy behavior). If you must put a motor on that beautiful river, observe the 25 hp rule. If that doesn't work for you, I highly recommend the Spring River a few miles away. When you go there, yelling "show your t$ts!" to passing women means you've got experience on that river and are, in all probability, a regular.

Umm, not sure where you're from. I'm a local, and I travel lots of local roads. I think about everyone in Alton and their hound dog has a boat, just in case you didn't know. If you're looking for one, this winter will be time to buy. There have never been any jobs in Alton, and now that the rest of the national economy is dead, they will be getting really cheap!