Heritage Tourism: Heritage, culture can draw tourists to city

Making the city a destination, rather than a pass-through point on the way to Branson, is among the goals of several entities working to keep the city's history alive.

Kristin Kubitschek, public information manager for the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, said there are a lot of historic and cultural aspects of Springfield, including Route 66, that interest visitors.

"Route 66 has brought a significant number of people to Springfield," Kubitschek said. "It was here in Springfield in 1929 that officials first proposed the name of the transcontinental highway that became known as The Mother Road.'"

Kubitschek added that Wilson's Creek National Battlefield and General Sweeny's Museum of Civil War History bring many tourists and researchers to this area, and the CVB includes some of the city's historical and cultural events, such as Frisco Days, in its visitor guide.

Heritage Tourism of the Ozarks is a group of about 50 members who work to educate people about key historical figures, said Jim Millikin, the group's co-president. His wife, Patty Millikin, is also involved in the group.

"It seems like one of their main purposes was to bring characters alive from some of our ancestors, some of our founding people here in Springfield," she said.

She added that a key event HTO puts on is the Voices from the Past presentation each October at Maple Park Cemetery.

"They try to find surviving members of a lot of the old families that are buried in Maple Park, which is a very old cemetery that comes from the 1870s, I believe. We have people at the cemetery in costume and have them tell the stories of their families," she said. "It gets a lot of people connected to the families that were here years ago and some that are still remaining."

During Voices from the Past, the Millikins portray his ancestors, Sebastian and Dorothea Dingeldein, who came to Springfield in 1876 and opened the original Springfield Brewing Company. Jim Millikin said Heritage Tourism members also appear at local festivals and schools.

Millikin is also a member of the Friends of the Gray/Campbell Farmstead Board. The farmstead, located in Nathanael Greene Park, includes a house that belonged to members of the city's founding families, including James Price Gray and his wife Mary, and John Polk Campbell.

The Millikins volunteer as docents at the farmstead, providing tours to visitors. Beside tours, there are also special events such as Sheep and Wool Day.

An educational program for Springfield fifth graders is held every year at various times to give children a chance to see what life was like for the area's settlers.

An annual festival on the campus of Southwest Missouri State University is one example of a local event that targets the area's cultural history.

Tobin Bushman is the coordinator of the Ozarks Celebration Festival, which will be held Aug. 26-27. He said the event educates people on cultural and historical aspects, including music, dance, storytelling, historical displays, and arts and crafts.

Bushman noted that while the festival wasn't created specifically to bring people to Springfield, it does bring the area's history to the public.

"I think the main issue was that there was sort of a crying out from the community to the university that there are generations dying off here, that we're going to miss out on ... documenting some of this folk music, some of this traditional craft form, some of the history behind the Ozarks. And some organization needs to step up and start organizing events, things that will help bring awareness and to help preserve the cultural heritage here. And I think, What better place to do this than at a university?'" Bushman said.

He added that Ozarks music is one thing the festival really brings out. Bushman said the festival is growing. He said close to 4,000 people attended last year's event, and hopes for more this year.

Patty Millikin said groups and people interested in preserving and sharing Springfield's history are working together more and better than they used to. Jim Millikin agreed, and said a joint effort in the city is the greatest asset toward promoting the history for future generations.

"If we didn't have this involvement with different groups, and the sharing of ideas and different thoughts, (the area's history) might well just fade into the sunset, but I think this is all keeping it alive," he said.