Not every story has such a notable beginning as Lake Ozark's.
Construction of Bagnell Dam changed the landscape, the economy and the culture of what was once just another smattering of rural enclaves in the Ozark foothills.
The town emerged out of necessity to service a swelling population of workers and dignitaries overseeing the dam project, the town was referenced by a few names until the U.S. Postal Service officially designated it Lake Ozark.
This weekend, the city of Lake Ozark, event organizers and more than 30 sponsors welcome residents and visitors to a weekend celebration today and Saturday to honor the 50th anniversary of Lake Ozark as an incorporated city.
"No one really planned what was to happen along the Boulevard, it just did. It sprang unpredictably from the earth amid the noise and dust of Dam construction on the hopes and dreams of people who gambled their lives and fortunes on a new concept - tourism," H. Dwight Weaver wrote in his book, "Historic Bagnell Dam Boulevard Past & Present."
Weaver called the building years of the Lake, from 1931 into early 1960s, the Pioneer Days. During these decades, people built up the area and infrastructure, invested in industries serving the tourist trade, bought into the seasonal economy of tourism and took the risk on this new gamble.
As the Pioneer Days gave way to a more modern version of tourism, Lake Ozark found itself amid a changing tide of the country.
Recalling 1966, the year of Lake Ozark incorporation as a city, Sonny Burris described the events.
In summer 1965, a crowd descended on and "tore up" the town of Rockaway Beach on the shores of Lake Taneycomo. It was rumored in summer 1966, Lake Ozark was destined for the same destruction.
At the time, Burris was a deputy sheriff. The sheriff's department was the law of the area, but law without teeth. There were no laws to invoke for arrest of public drunkenness or disorderly conduct, which were both on the rise.
"Before this, it was a family-oriented town." Burris said. "Then when the crowds came, it changed."
Incorporation provided an extra layer of protection for the town. "We warned them first," Burris said. "Then we had the threat of arrest."
As the 1966 Fourth of July holiday weekend approached, Lake Ozark was ready. While they were not officially a city yet, order was maintained by the sheriff's department and residents of the small town.
"From the Dam to Dogpatch, you couldn't get another car in there," Burris said. "It was the only route around the Lake. Traffic was tied up. But the riot didn't happen because people were on top of it. They loved their town. They loved their businesses."
Lake Ozark was officially incorporated as a fourth-class city in August 1966.
"Back then, it reminded me of the old Wild West," Burris said. "We didn't have the equipment. We used our own cars.
"Later we got our first car from the Highway Patrol. We used the Miller County jail in Tuscumbia or took (violators) to Camden County."
Explaining how the town grew into its incorporation, Burris described Lake Ozark business owners as people who loved their town.
"There's not a person I couldn't ask for help and they helped," he said. "They volunteered and we would deputize them for the busy weekends. They owned businesses and worked as deputies on the side. When you got citizens backing you up, it makes a world of difference."
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