In the obscure village of New Madrid, Missouri a giant earthquake had just taken place. It was December 16th. It would change things forever. Continuing tremors would further affect the land and it's sparse inhabitants but things would never again be the same.

The following web site will give you more information concerning these events: Click here newmadrd.

The Missouri Sunklands had been created as huge underground caverns collapsed creating giant sink holes. More information is also available on the Missouri Sunklands: Click here gov/conmag

The topography of the whole area had been altered! Grapevine Hollow's creek disappeared underground into what today is called a sinking creek. This was and is due to the karst topography of the entire area where Grapevine Hollow is located. Many large pines crashed down in Grapevine Hollow. There were no oak trees here yet. No one lived here but the Native Americans who considered it part of their great hunting ground. . . . bison, deer, bear among many other types of animals lived here in peace. The Native Americans hunted only what they needed for food and sustenance.

Then, as time passed more and more white settlers of Scotch-Irish descent arrived and settled the lands. Here's another site with lots of information on the history of the Ozarks: Click here watershed history

These early settlers broke the land with primitive plows and began to cut the forests and hunt the hollows. There could be no turning back.

Nothing would ever be the same again. Came then the terrible conflict of father against son, brother against brother. . . the great Civil War. This land was plundered by both sides leaving no one safe! Women and children were at the mercy of opposing forces who showed no mercy. The Irish Wilderness, close by was the scene of much senseless violence!

More can be read on this subject at the web site listed below:

Grapevine Hollow endured. The timber barons had come and with them logging companies and sawmills! This industry brought prosperity to the Ozarks for the first time! . Men worked for cash for the first time. That cash could be used to buy goods never before available. Rich business men from the east realized the tremendous potential of the Ozark's mighty forests! Again there could be no turning back. Down came the timber, men worked in the logging camps and sawmills. Soon the land had been raped. The timber companies moved on and the people and land were left behind. Erosion took place and ravaged the land. Free range grazing of hogs and cattle worsened the erosion problems. Those left behind tried to eek out an existence by farming the land. The giant pines were replaced by oaks. . . . .black jack, scarlet, as well as red and white. The loblolly pine was replaced with the short needle yellow pine. Things would never be the same. Click here The library

Time marched on. Grapevine Hollow had been logged now four times. Four times the giant trees had been cut down. Four times the timber returned. Four times man intervened and harvested the timber on the land. Today there will be no timber harvest. Our white oak and pine forest supports our medicinal herb farm.

What about the young family from Illinois? They came with a dream and a will to make that dream come true. They arrived many years ago with a camper and small children. That first winter was called an adventure but it had to be hard for the little family! As time marched on they constructed their own sawmill and began cutting trees and turning them into lumber. That was the beginning of our Grapevine Hollow Lodge! One room, no running water or electricity, but much better than a camper, that first one room building in the woods. Wood cook stove for heat and a real roof over their heads! They thanked God and time moved on! They had no way to turn the land so they mulched it with straw and planted a garden in the mulch. It thrived and so did they! Using an out house isn't really so bad if that's all one has! More children and the lodge was expanding by the addition of another two rooms. One a bedroom, the other a real kitchen. Still no electricity but now water stored in a tank and pumped into the lodge. The family continued to bless God and grow. Another building was built to be used as a green house. Herbs were harvested from the woods. The children learned much about nature. The little family was home schooled. The years passed and more children arrived. The family began it's most ambitious project, the construction of a shop and log home some distance away. There was no outside help to speak of so the father constructed a crane to move the logs into position. All of the logs were selected from the property and hued to perfection by the energy of the family. Everyone old enough helped and the log home became reality.

Time moved on and the Perrys found Grapevine Hollow and purchased it. Upon retirement from modern life they began their own dream of a medicinal herb farm and the restoration of the lodge, the green house now turned into a bunk house, the addition of a lake, and the clearing of the wood's under story to create a park like setting in the woods. The addition of electricity and plumbing to the lodge along with a screened in porch and modern appliances completed the transformation.

Today the Perrys are proud of Grapevine Hollow and would like to share their dream with you. If you want to get away from it all to the most remote, yet beautiful section of the Ozarks, then here we are!

We are located close to the Ozark Scenic Riverways offering boating, fishing, hiking, biking, hunting and exploration of nature as well as local cultural events.

Only four miles from Missouri's famed Sunklands miles of trails await you and your ATV! Our rivers, the Current and the Jacks Fork are both spring fed and crystal clear.

No wonder so many people drive great distances to experience nature at it's finest.

Our lodge is not a fancy motel. It is much the way it was built, primitive but with a homey feel! We have no paved roads or fancy bedding . We offer clean, rustic accommodations for those that still enjoy watching the sun come up in the morning through the trees of our woods. It's for those who like to hear the frogs croaking in our lake at night or enjoy the sound of the coyotes calling each other in the night. It's nature to be experienced like it was many years ago when the pioneers came to this country.

We've only added modern convinces to make it easier for you to transition. Yes, much of the original setting has been preserved. The family garden is still located across the trail from the lodge and bunk house where the Perrys now raise much of their own food. In the evening you can still sit on the screened in porch and listen to the birds as well as here the breeze singing in the pines surrounding the lodge. At night if you're lucky you can go to sleep with the sound of rain pattering on the tin roof!

This is what we offer you here at our Grapevine Hollow, peace and the ability to experience the past in our little woods setting. We only ask that you respect it as we will you and care for it as it was your own preserving this little piece of paradise for future generations!

Thanks for sharing our dream!

Explore the area at the below mentioned web-site: Click here Explore the area