John T. Woodruff: Architect of the Modern Ozarks
- Madison Holt
- 2 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Today, John T. Woodruff is primarily known for his role in securing Springfield's place on Route 66. However, Woodruff's work on the Mother Road was by no means his only contribution to the growth of the Ozarks in the 20th century. Throughout his time in Springfield, Woodruff seized opportunities for the betterment of his community. He brought the Frisco West Shops, the Fourth Normal School (now Missouri State University), and the Federal Medical Prison to Springfield; he built hotels, golf courses, and even the city's first skyscraper; and he was an early advocate for major projects impacting the wider Ozarks, including the Table Rock Lake Dam and Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. Through these efforts, Woodruff played a substantial role in shaping the modern Ozarks.
First Years in Springfield
John Thomas Woodruff was born 1868 in Franklin County, Missouri. He grew up in Crawford County, where he was elected prosecuting attorney at the age of 22. His law career took him to St. Louis, where he became an attorney for the financially ailing St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. The company emerged from its first bankruptcy as the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad (better known as the Frisco), with Woodruff instrumental in its reorganization.
Woodruff moved with his family to Springfield in 1904 to be closer to his work with the Frisco. There, he cemented Springfield's status as a major transportation hub by acquiring 320 acres of land for the Frisco West Shops, a facility consisting of auxiliary buildings to be used for the maintenance and construction of locomotives. The West Shops' local presence allowed the Frisco to become a major employer for the people of Springfield.
In 1905, a fierce competition was underway between Missouri cities over the location of the planned Fourth District Normal School—an educational institution for training teachers. Each city desired the economic and demographic boost that would come with hosting the school, but it was ultimately Springfield that won the day, thanks to a deal struck by Woodruff with state officials. The Fourth District Normal School was the earliest iteration of what is now Missouri State University, the largest university in southwest Missouri in terms of enrollment.
Shortly after the Normal School opened, construction began on Woodruff's Colonial Hotel. Opened in 1907, the Colonial was located on the southwest corner of St. Louis Street and Jefferson Avenue. The hotel would serve as the setting for important conversations about the future of Springfield, including the meeting where Route 66 received its name. When the building was demolished in 1997, the iconic columns that once flanked the Colonial's entrance were relocated to the stage of the Springfield Art Museum's outdoor amphitheater.
Woodruff retired from the Frisco in 1909 after thirteen years of service. With more time for personal projects, he directed his attention more fully to Springfield's development. During a 1910 trip to St. Louis, Woodruff strengthened relationships from his Frisco years over rounds of golf, securing loans for several projects in the process.
That same year, ground was broken in Downtown Springfield on three of Woodruff's projects: the Springfield Frisco Office, the Hotel Sansone, and the Woodruff Building. The Woodruff Building is considered to be Springfield's first skyscraper and was the largest office building in the city at the time of its completion in 1911. The Southern Office of the Missouri Court of Appeals was located on the tenth floor of the Woodruff Building from 1911 to 1983. Today, the building is the site of the Sky Eleven student housing complex.
"Good Roads" in the Ozarks
In the early days of automobiles, motorists drove on dirt roads that were often muddy, rutted, and difficult to navigate. These roads were usually maintained by whoever happened to live nearby. As automobiles gained in popularity across the United States, it became obvious to travelers that the country was in need of better roads.
Various organizations arose to address this issue. Woodruff was an important member of the Ozark Trails Association, an organization that played a central role in determining the path of Route 66. Woodruff also founded the Inter-Ozarks Highway Association, which worked to improve and expand local roads. More broadly, the Good Roads Movement (of which Woodruff was a part) helped Missourians to "lift themselves out of the mud" by promoting a constitutional amendment to upgrade roads across the state. Together, citizen-led groups such as these helped set the nation as a whole on the path toward the federal highway infrastructure that would include Route 66.
In the years leading up to the creation of Route 66, Woodruff continued to develop properties in Springfield. Construction began on the Kentwood Arms Hotel (now Missouri State University's Kentwood Hall) in 1925. The following year, Woodruff converted his farm, Hickory Hills, into a country club and golf course.
On April 30, 1926, a telegram was sent from Woodruff's Colonial Hotel proposing the name "U.S. 66" for the planned federal highway that would run from Chicago to Los Angeles. This telegram came on the heels of a meeting between Oklahoma Highway Commissioner Cyrus Avery, Missouri Highway Commission Engineer B. H. Piepmeier, and Oklahoma Highway Engineer John Marshall Page. All of these men were in Springfield that day for a Rotary convention, and all of them were involved in the new federal highway project. The selection of "66" as the road's designation resolved a dispute with boosters in Kentucky who wanted the Chicago-Los Angeles road's designation of "60" for their local federal highway.
Woodruff was elected as the first president of the U.S. 66 Highway Association in 1927. The association's goals were to promote tourism along the highway and to ensure that the road was paved from end to end—a milestone that was reached in Missouri in 1931 and along the rest of the route in 1938.
In Springfield, Route 66 led travelers past several of Woodruff's properties, including the Kentwood Arms Hotel, the Woodruff Building, and the Colonial Hotel. Motorists enjoyed opportunities for dining, shopping, and entertainment in a bustling and increasingly modern Springfield.
"He Leaves Many Monuments"
Woodruff's work in bettering the Ozarks did not stop with Route 66. In 1926, he began conversations with stakeholders about generating power for the rural Ozarks by damming the White River near Hollister, Missouri. Woodruff would not live to see the dam completed. After his death, there was talk of naming the dam in his honor. However, when construction began in 1954, developers stuck to the project's original name: Table Rock Dam.
Also in 1926, just as the federal highway system numbering was being finalized, Woodruff filed a formal application with the United States War Department to establish a national park at the site of the Battle of Wilson's Creek, the first major Civil War engagement west of the Mississippi River. This vision was realized 35 years later, thanks to the efforts of the Wilson's Creek Battlefield Foundation. Today, Wilson's Creek National Battlefield consists of 1,726 acres of federally managed land and features a visitor center and research library.
In 1931, Woodruff co-chaired a committee to raise funds and build public support for a campaign to site the country's new federal medical prison in Springfield. The effort was a success, securing both the funding and the location for the institution and bringing new jobs to the community. The U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners is still in operation in Springfield today.
John T. Woodruff died in Duluth, Minnesota on January 30, 1949 while visiting his daughter, Jessamine Kohlbry, and his son-in-law Carl. The Springfield Daily News eulogized Woodruff as "the city's foremost booster" and a "veteran builder," while the Leader and Press proclaimed, "He leaves many monuments."
A staff writer for the Daily News predicted that Springfield would soon be filled with statues and monuments honoring Woodruff. However, in the years since, Woodruff has faded somewhat from Springfield's collective memory—although in 1999, he was declared the most influential Springfieldian of the 20th century by Mike O'Brien of the Springfield News-Leader.
Today, a Route 66 shield sculpture stands near the Woodruff Building, across Jefferson Avenue from where the Colonial Hotel once stood. While not explicitly dedicated to the man himself, this sculpture and its surroundings form a kind of monument to the many achievements of John T. Woodruff: One of the most impactful figures in the history of the Ozarks, and a man who spent much of his life bettering the community that he called home.
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Acknowledgement
A special thank you to Local History Associate Michael Price for providing information about the history of Wilson's Creek National Battlefield.
Resources
"Death to John T. Woodruff, Veteran Springfield Builder." Springfield Leader and Press, 31 Jan. 1949, p. 9.
Hulston, John K. An Ozarks Lawyer's Story, 1947-1976. Western Printing Company, 1976.
"John Woodruff, City's Foremost Booster, Is Dead." Springfield Daily News, 31 Jan. 1949, pp. 1–2.
O'Brien, Mike. "Search for the 'Most Influential Springfieldian' Is Over." Springfield News-Leader, 6 Sept. 1999, p. 1B.
Peters, Thomas A. John T. Woodruff of Springfield, Missouri, in the Ozarks: An Encyclopedic Biography. Pie Supper Press, 2016.