Our History

According to the National Register of Historic Places, on land located about a mile from Notch Estates, there once stood the home and business of Levi Morrill.  It was there that Morrill and wife, Jennie, settled after moving from Lamar to the Missouri Ozarks.  He went to work for the Stone County Oracle newspaper, which was owned by his friend, Truman Powell.

Morrill established the Notch, MO, Post Office in 1895.  The Post Office served an important role in the lives of early Ozarks pioneers.  It’s where they would get their mail, catch up on the news, and chat with their neighbors.  The Post Office closed in 1925, and Morrill died in 1926.

There was no Highway 76 then – just a dirt wagon trail (The Old Wilderness Trail) that ran in front of the Morrill’s house and business, and then it forked just north of the property.  That fork, or “notch” in the road may be how the community got its name.

Morrill hired local folks to deliver mail on horseback to towns along the road, and to where trains would pick up outgoing letters and packages.

The famous novel, The Shepherd Of The Hills, was written in 1907 by Harold Bell Wright. Wright used these local people as characters in his book.  For example, the character of Uncle Ike was modeled after Postmaster Levi Morrell.  The shepherd was based on Truman Powell.

Before 1900, Branson was just a tiny settlement where Reuben Branson had established a post office.  When the railroad came through in the early 1900’s, it put Branson on the map.

And who can forget Granny and Jed and Jethro and Ellie Mae BEFORE they moved to Beverly – Hills, that is.  They lived in these hills, and spoke of going to Branson and to Silver Dollar City throughout the TV sitcom, “The Beverly Hillbillies.”