Davisville, Missouri
Davisville is an unincorporated community in southeastern Crawford County, Missouri, United States. It is located in the Mark Twain National Forest about thirteen miles southeast of Steelville. Davisville is in the Saint Louis Metro Viewing Area.
The post office is officially named "Pucky Huddle". It is contained within the historic Davisville General Store, which is over 114 years old, one of the last of its kind, where you can find just about anything you could ever need...think Drucker's Store from Green Acres with Wi-Fi. It is owned by a local woman, Kerry Sue Richardson, who returned after years in St. Louis and Springfield, Missouri to save the store and maintain its unique character. Kerry runs the store with her husband Matt Richardson. She was introduced to the store by her grandparents Alvin and Edna Walker who were the local rural mail carriers for over 40 years and bought the store with the help of her parents, Wayne and Sue Richards.
Legend has it that the name "Pucky Huddle" comes from an old time moonshiner named Pucky, who brought his latest batches to the crossroads for a community tasting. These major social gatherings were known locally as "Pucky's Huddles".
Running through "downtown Davisville" is the main branch of Woodlock Spring, named after the first family of the valley. Patrick Woodlock, trained as an apprentice stonemason, emigrated from Ireland with the intention of becoming a priest. His plans were derailed when he fell madly in love with the teacher and choir director at the school in St. James, 30 miles away. Together they returned to her family's holdings. The Stottlers, who owned all of the land in and around Davisville, welcomed Woodlock into the family.
Luckily for Woodlock, the major crop of the valley was, and still is...rocks. Seeing a unique opportunity, he set about to create a resort community for travelers from St. Louis and beyond, who could reach the area by train. Woodlock set about building a stone lined mill race re-routing half of the output of the spring up a bluff to a pool where a spillway powered a 27' water wheel, generating electricity for the valley (AC electricity did not reach the valley until 1947). A 22 room state-of the art hotel and a series of cabins with ornate stone foundations soon grew up along the branch to the nearby Huzzah River, shortly after the turn of the century. Eventually a fire destroyed the hotel, but it was rebuilt and remained popular until the automobile and Route 66 drew traffic 35 miles North. Most of the buildings remain as private homes, but the once thriving resorts are gone.
Perhaps the most famous and enduring of Woodlock's rustic stonemasonry is the family cemetery he created. Less than a tenth of a mile from Pucky Huddle and across Crabtree Road from the old hotel building, the burial site is perched midway up on the Davisville side of the narrow ridge separating the Spring valley from the Huzzah to the East. Legend has combined with the somewhat creepy look of the cemetery, to land it on the list of Missouri's most haunted places, The fact that no ghostly sightings have ever been made has not dampened the enthusiasm of the cemetery's ghoulish fans. Those who want to test their nerve must check in at the General Store and contact the Davisville Historical Society.
- http://www.ghosthaunters.com/index.php?pr=Woodlock_Cemetery
- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Davisville-Historical-Society/199300736777590
There is a rocking little historic tavern over yon hill called Pole Bridge Tavern, dating back to when there was an actual pole bridge spanning the Huzzah River. Pole Bridge has had the same owner, the locally famous Young Bill Young, since 1974.
The latitude of Davisville is 37.807N. The longitude is -91.185W.
It is in the Central Standard time zone. Elevation is 840 feet.
External links
- http://www.recreation.gov/campgroundDetails.do?topTabIndex=CampingSpot&agency=NRRS&parkId=799
- http://www.mostateparks.com/dillardmill.htm
- http://www.wunderground.com/US/MO/Davisville.html
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Coordinates: 37°48′28″N 91°11′06″W / 37.80778°N 91.18500°W