Welcome to the history of Commercial Street. The pages here trace how a railroad town on the north side of Springfield began, grew, and became C-Street, and they open the record behind that story: maps, city directories, first hand histories, and photographs. Each collection stands on its own, so begin wherever your curiosity leads.
How a railroad that bypassed old Springfield created a new town, and how that town became Commercial Street.
Twenty-four fire insurance sheets drawn between 1884 and 1902, mapped block by block.
Occupancy records for eight blocks of Commercial Street, compiled from city directories.
Two nineteenth century histories of the district and one first hand recollection of the street.
Photographs of the street, the railroad, and the people who built both.
We would like to thank the following people and organizations for their assistance in compiling the information for this website:
Joan Hampton-Porter and Jami Lewis at The History Museum of the Ozarks
Dan Boyts at Missouri State University Graduate Program for Professional Writing
