Be sure to see the other Project Homecoming 2 videos here: ukposts.info/slow/PLjnwpaclU4wV5RHTFL8xWYALVIf2hFoUu

"What is this place?" "Branson, Missouri. My dad said it's like Vegas- if it were run by Ned Flanders."

Fun fact, as a European, I had no idea the Ozarks were a thing at all until I played the After the End mod for Crusader Kings 2. I looked around the are down there and saw like a kingdom of the Ozarks or something like that and thought "that's a weird name, I bet it's made up". Spoiler alert, it was not.

As a person born in Springfield and raised in Branson, I am proud to tell others that I am from the region. I appreciate the time and effort you have put into this video to show others that we aren't really "hicks" or "hillbillies" and the region in general laughs all the way to the bank by cashing in on the stereotypes that others love to come see and experience.

As a German- Scots Irish Hillbilly from the Ozarks, I kept waiting for you to screw up the history of my family/region, but you never did. The best explanation of the Ozarks ever. The only thing that was left out to my mind was the fact that the Boston Mountains are the Oldest (and therefore the smallest) Mountains on the Continent. Beautifully Well Done Sir.

As a fellow Ozarkan I am glad you are spreading info about the history of our region.

As a Southern Appalachian, this seems very familiar, we even had a local silver dollar city

As a born and raised Ozarker, I love seeing this content. I'm from Fayetteville, and I can tell you that we are now becoming Little Austin. I feel like the migration of Californians to Texas is coinciding with a migration of Texans to NW Arkansas.

As an Oklahoman It was always strange how everyone thought we were entirely flat like the panhandle but the entire east half is either the Ozark foot hills or an entirely separate region of the Ouachita Mountains. Funnily enough even though the mountain range in the Ozarks touch the other, they are completely differently culturally somehow via the magic of the Arkansas river divide.

As a fellow Missourian, this was a really cool history lesson! Great job!

I'm from the Ozarks! Specifically, from Ozark (a city in Missouri.) I always love to see local history, Missouri is a lot more important than people give it credit for.

The Osage were originally known as the Ni-U-Kon-Ska, which means "children of the middle waters". The Osage inhabited a vast territory that formerly included Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas as well as the area between the Missouri and Red rivers, thus their name. Today they call themselves Wah-Zha-Zhi or Wahzhazhe, which was translated by French explorers and fur traders as Ouazhigi, which later became the English name Osage. Osage life centred on religious ceremonials in which clans were divided into symbolic sky and earth groups, with the latter further subdivided to represent dry land and water. The Osage were remarkable for their poetic rituals. Among them was the custom of reciting the history of the creation of the universe to each newborn infant. After they were forced off Kansas to Oklahoma, on reservation land that they bought, oil was discovered on their land in Oklahoma. They had retained communal mineral rights during the allotment process, and many Osage became wealthy through returns from leasing fees generated by their headrights. However, during the 1920s and what was known as the Reign of Terror, they suffered manipulation, fraud, and numerous murders by outsiders eager to take over their wealth.

As a Missourian I've often felt that our state is an absolute hidden gem for it's beauty and nature. I think it's one of the reasons the state's population may not agree on a lot of things but we can all agree on conservation and wildlife preservation. My whole family settled in the Ozarks by way of Tennessee and Arkansas and eventually landed in Saint Louis, Springfield, and Columbia with people scattered across the Saint Francois Mountain region. A truly beautiful area with bluffs, hills, dense forest, and of course, streams, creeks, and rivers. Thanks for the history lesson.

The wife and I are motorcycle tourers. We live in Texas. Back in 2006 we rode up to Eureka Springs, Arkansas to participate in a small get together and fell in love with the Ozarks. Over the past 20 years we have ridden in all 49 states that have roads to them and nearly all of Canada. We have seen some amazing, beautiful and awesome places. But the only place we keep going back to is The Ozarks. We have ridden all over The Ozarks and now consider the area our second home. It’s a beautiful area and the people there are mostly good folks. We’ll keep going back.

Representation for those of us in the Ozarks is much appreciated.

As someone who lives in Ozark County, I’m proud of us. These are the best people I know, and I was born in Europe and I have lived on 4 continents. We really hope nobody discovers us because we like what we have.

Granted that most of the Ozarks is in Missouri, I wished that you had given some attention to Northern Arkansas and the Cherokee Nation of Eastern Oklahoma in your doc. They are as much a part of the Ozarks as Southern Missouri is. I believe Eastern Oklahoma is "Where the Red Fern Grows" took place, and was just as much an important film and book about the Ozarks as "Shepherd of the Hills"

Point of pronunciation: "Aux arcs" would actually be pronounced pretty similar to Ozark. Aux is normally pronounced as "oh", but since the next word begins with a vowel you carry over and pronounce the x (with a z sound) to make it flow.

As a fellow Missouri man I say we free the Ozarks from our state so they don’t have to be under Jefferson City.

As a Missourian from the southeast edge, I think you did the Ozarks a bit of justice here. I went to college in poplar bluff which I've often said is the edge of the world because it's basically the southern gateway to the Ozarks and I have many fond memories of driving through the heavily wooded Ozark hills late into the night. Truly it is a place of comfort so thank you again.

We are proud Ozark-Americans. Don’t confuse our laid back culture of manners as being unintelligent. You’d be mistaken. 😊

I live in the Northwest Arkansas area and I absolutely love every bit of the gorgeous mountains I'm in. You can take the boy out of the mountains, but you can't take the mountains out of the boy

As a Springfield resident, it's good to see my homeland getting coverage.

I grew up near Joplin, Missouri. I remember as a kid we were at Table Rock Lake in SWMO, and a cousin from Texas called me and my dad hillbillies, and I asked my dad “what’s a hillbilly?”, and he yelled back “WE are hillbillies!”. So l think I basically never knew what a hillbilly was, just that I was one apparently.

I live in the town of ozark in Arkansas. Our school mascot is a hillbilly haha. Most around here believe the “aux-arc” from the french gave us our name. We are settled at the bend of the Arkansas river. Super interesting video. America owes a lot to the ozarks but just doesn’t know it.

Sounds like Appalachia without the coal wars arch

It was so cool too watch this being born and raised in the Ozarks, then when you mentioned Brooks. I’m a Blevins and my family was full of good ole Missouri hillbillies, there are still some to this day. They originally were like any other settlers/pioneers but after long they either played into the label or never fully recovered from the Great Depression and left with no choice but to embrace the label. Being poor lead to a lack of proper dental care and medicine, strange diets, and strange means of being resourceful in the hills. These hardships helped them fit the criteria that much more. My family knows how to be goofy without worrying about judgement because they know people will assume whatever they want as long as the criteria fits. They are fun people and have lived quite the lives…I had a great uncle get kidnapped by Bonnie and Clyde during a shootout in the ozarks…..and a great grandpa who met Jesse James. They have the wildest stories I’ve ever heard and I even believe I’ve heard stories of Gold in caves.

The "Li'l Abner" comic strip went a long way toward popularizing the hillbilly stereotype. The town, in the comic strip, was called "Dogpatch, USA." There was, for a time, a "Dogpatch USA" theme park in NW Arkansas. It closed in 1993. I remember seeing commercials for it when I was younger and living in rural southern Missouri.

Springfielder here, my neurons activated the second I saw this video in my recommended haha. So happy for our little slice of the USA to get some attention!

He failed to mention that most of the people in upper Ozark region (in the MO River valley,) were not Scots/Irish, that area is mostly German and Catholic and how those in the Herman area have produced some of the finest German wines. There are also some areas where Italians settled too.

Back in the 80s when I was still a youngster, I traveled from Ft. Smith to Fayetteville. It was still a two lane road. Now that route is a 4 lane divided highway if I'm not mistaken. I remember looking up and seeing an all wood house with a porch that ran across the entire front of it on the side of a hill. It had a couple of men barefoot in overalls sitting in rocking chairs with a dog lying at their feet. I remember wondering if that was for tourists. It was not

My uncles were in Shepherd of the Hills play when it opened. One of them went on to explore Marvel's Cave and open the route used today. My Grandfather opened businesses that are still open. My heart is always in The Ozark Mountains.

You should cover the Ouachita mountain region, now since they lie directly below the ozarks

It's quite amazing how much French pronunciation of native words live on through Arkansas, and Missouri.

Well done sir. I'm a native Oklahoman but I'm a mere 3 hour drive from the Ozarks region and this year will mark 25 years of visiting the region for me and it's always breathtaking whenever I go up there. Thanks.

I grew up in St Louis and my family used to go on vacations to Branson once or twice a year. The Ozarks are such a fascinating place and loom large in my subconscious.

2:28 the Ozark Hillbillies is a badass school team.

I was a kid in Toronto in the mid 1970’s when I heard Ozark Mountain Daredevils on the radio. Next time I was at the public library (which was every week in those days before the internet was even a sparkle in the eye of TBL) I looked up Ozark and ended up doing a geography/social studies project on the area. Got a good grade too.

Im from Southwest Missouri and love this area. Im glad things move slower here and we're a bit removed from a lot of the chaos in the world. Plus, it's beautiful country out here and you can actually hear yourself think lol. The quote at the beginning, about stereotypes and a different attitude towards them when coming from "outsiders", is definitely true. Enjoyed the video.

In 1978 we moved from San Diego to Northwest Arkansas to attend John Brown University. Mrs. Rick was from the Philippines, and to her San Diego and up the coast to San Jose pretty much represented America. She loved the beautiful Ozark scenery, and was absolutely fascinated when autumn came around and the leaves all changed colors. She had never seen anything like that before. In her tropical country the world is green, so green it can wash away everything else. Then the leaves all fell off the trees. She was devastated. She thought the entire world had died. Everywhere she looked was death to her eyes. Talk about spiraling into a depression. I kept telling her that spring would come, and the trees would get back their leaves again. She had no context as to what "spring" was. By the end of April she was beginning to get back to normal. Took several years for her to get accustomed to the four season cycle we see here. We live outside Chicago now, and we just came back from visiting the college for Homecoming last week. Still enjoy the area.

you can always tell which side of the Missouri-Arkansas line you're from. If you live in Missouri you are an Ozarkan, if you live in Arkansas you refer to yourself as an Ozarker.

I grew up in the American west. I used to have the attitude that we had real mountains out there, with the Rockies and the Cascades- and that mountains out east were mere hills in comparison. Then I had to drive an overloaded moving truck across the Ozarks. I had woefully underestimated those “hills.” They were real mountains, and it was a struggle. Fortunately, the commercial truck drivers around me recognized what an idiot I was, and acted as my guardian angels. They safely shepherded me those “hills.” To this day, I am still thankful for their looking out for me. Don’t underestimate the Ozarks.

I'm a Texan that moved to Southwest Missouri in 2009. I absolutely love the Ozarks and I'm proud to now call them home.

My family is from West Plains and Springfield before my mom moved to Michigan, so I spent my time growing up split living in Michigan and Missouri. As members of my family who lived in the Ozarks pass, and friends I had there move on, I'm slowly losing my connection to there, but I will always hold the land in my heart.

hell yeah! I'm from there, I even speak a local dialect of English so obscure I've never seen it mentioned, and even in the show "Ozark" when someone speaks in the "local dialect" it sounds like someone from further south.

I’m from Missouri as well, but it’s amazing to realize how little I think of the Ozarks. I live near St. Louis, and the region is only a few miles away from me. Still, I hardly ever think about it and it’s been great to learn more about how someone from the Ozarks views their home.

I first learned of the Ozarks from the movie adaptations of "Where the Red Fern Growns" of all places.

As someone who lives in the southeast kansas part of the Ozarks, we try to forget it too. And honestly, a lot of people don't really know we're a part of the Ozarks because it's such a small part of the SE KS. We definitely don't got the beauty of the rest of the Ozarks.

“Burning down the Ozark” -title for a horror story of said region

I've traveled and lived all over Europe, the Middle East, and oart of Asia. There's beauty throughout this world of ours, but there's only one place Ill call home. The Ozarks and foothills of Arkansas! It has a beauty and charm all it's own.

The vast number of Ozark young men who went off to fight in WWII and returned as veterans of fighting alongside all other Americans and got to know another world beyond the hills and hollows.... returned and changed the land forever.

I’m from the Ozarks so it’s cool to see a larger UKpostsr cover us

My mom's from Arkansas, and I got to say if there was ever an apocalypse it wouldn't be the worst place to be stuck, it's remote and full of loot for the bold Vault Dweller (a lot of ammo and guns, fishing supplies, lumber, fresh water, etc).

Dude, this is awesome. I live on the Arkansas side of the Ozarks and there’s a ton more you could get into with all this. The town where I’m from, Cotter there’s a huge railroad boom down, as well as a place for steamboats to come down from Branson through the white river, and you could also mentioned the other theme park that didn’t make it nearly as far as Silverdollar city, Dogpatch, USA in Jasper, Arkansas

Dang, never knew you were a fellow Ozarker, it's nice to hear. Feels like sometimes, the only time we're mentioned is with derision so it's nice to see a video like this.

I had no idea that you were a fellow Ozarker! I am glad you're spreading the history of our area, and showing how beautiful our region is.

I went to Camp Ozark as a kid. Best summer camp ever. They would tell us scary stories at night about some crazy lunatic hillbilly called the “Looper” who lived in the woods and he would come and take kids from the camp. Those stories had us mortified.

Im from Central Texas and when I went into the Ozarks for a camping trip I drove through areas where the trees were standing 5 feet from each other for miles. The thickest darkest forest I ever saw and I've been to many others. The road would be on a hill so as you went up you could see the tops of the trees and as you went down it got dark. It made me think if a tornado came on by I would have no way of seeing it until it hit me. I also stopped at the smallest Walmart I've ever seen in a small town in the middle of the forest for fishing supplies. The ceiling of this Walmart was only around 12 feet high. I've never seen a Walmart with a regular ceiling like that. They always have huge open ceilings but this one felt more like a bigger dollar store. It was strange. The shirts inside were funny though. Half had jokes about punching some random politician from either party or hunting/fishing. Was kinda cozy honestly. On my way out a good ol boy wearing only overalls and boots drove by smiling at my dog. I remember this guy because he looked like a stereotype of a hillbilly. So extreme you would think hes not real. Truck leaning to one side, half his teeth missing and one strap on his overalls. Dude was about that life I guess. My dog seemed to like him when he talked to us so he was good in my book lol

Missouri pride! Our state is overlooked in its varied history and demographics as well as our impact on the history of the USA at large.

Actually the French pronunciation of Aux Arcs would sound nearly identical to how we pronounce Ozark. Because Arcs begins with a vowel, there would be a phonetic contraction between the x and A, making a Z sound. Great video!

I'm from St. Louis, and my entire dad's side of the family is from Taney County, the same county as Branson, and it's a godsend to me. Just to get out there, away from the city does the soul good. I can have a bonfire on a small creek and feel like I'm completely away from civilization and not just an hour away from Springfield and Branson

My great grandmother was from the Branson area. In fact, the place was she was born was so remote, it’s now in a national forest.

Just as i was feeling a bit homesick, you released this video! I was born and raised in Joplin and still consider it home even though i live in Buffalo, NY now.

I'm from Arkansas! I love these mountains and they have just as much lore and stuff as the Appalachians I think.

I was born and raised near potosi Missouri, where Moses Austin is buried. I learned a lot from this video. Thank you

"No pally, you're in Bronson, Missouri"

so weird to think that the midland plains of the USA has some mountains and plateaus, beautiful!

I've lived in the Ozarks my entire life and you just taught everything I knew about my home and more. Very good video!

I live at the very southern tip of the Ozarks in northern-ish Arkansas. Seems like people always get bored with and used to the places they live/grow up in and take them for granted but I've lived here my entire 37 years and I've always thought there was something unique and interesting about the Ozarks - maybe even something approaching the spiritual or metaphysical. Like there are a lot of unique and interesting features concentrated here in one place that are similar to a wide range of other places - just like the diverse environments, ecology, geology, etc. Like it kind of seems like it's right in the corner/on the edge of where several different natural boundaries/zones converge. Sort of like how the terrain of Arkansas feels like 4-5 states in one - with the Ozark Mountains in the northwest, the flat farmland out east, the riverlands/river valley in the central part, swamps in the south, almost sort of like semi-arid shrubland in the southwest by Texas, etc. The Ozarks themselves are kind of diverse like that. But I've always liked how the Ozarks are kind of an incognito hidden gem.

Drove from Iowa to Waynesville MO to buy a truck. First half of the trek was quick for the most part until you hit Jefferson City. Everything south of there is winding roads exactly like Appalachia. On a bend there was a gas station. The worker inside was almost as depicted in the bug bunny cartoon but some of the customers were emo and even one in a suit. Felt like a Twilight Zone episode. (Also Jimmy Driftwood is the best Ozark artist out there).

😂 I grew up in the Ozarks. It's an amazing place to live. The school I attended would dismiss for the week of firearms deer season.

Cool clip! My Scots-Irish great-great-great grandfather settled in the MO Ozarks. His son was a cavalry officer on the Union side at Wilson's Creek. Then HIS son settled in Labette County, Kansas. The grandson of that man married my mother, who was from the western edge of Labette County. That's where I live. It's called 'The Little Ozarks', a region of about 100sq. miles. Cross west into Montgomery County and things begin to flatten out very quickly. An Osage village was excavated about a mile from where I live.

As an Eastern Kansan with central Missouri roots. I absolutely love the Ozarks. And every time I venture there it feels like going home. Beautiful, inviting. I love the 'Zarks.

I live in East Tennessee and visited Branson this year and it was amazing how similar both regions are especially when compared to the Cumberland Plateau area. I was also surprised by how big the region was, I thought it was just a small area near Branson and didn't know it spread all across southern Missouri.

Born and raised in the Ozarks (but left years ago). It’s a weird blending of cultures. Overall it’s VERY southern leaning with massive Bible Belt influence. Mostly evangelical Christian, compared to the northern US , which is mostly Catholic and mainline Protestant. Religion influences all, in this swathe of land. In my experience, most of the Appalachian culture is gone, replaced by mega churches and unchecked suburban development.

I’m from Hickory county, you are correct. I myself, know my assenters lived in Kentucky and moved out west to Fristoe Missouri because the land was very similar. Then the family moved farther south to Cross Timbers when they dammed the Osage River. Many of the old trading towns and farmland would soon find itself under 50’ of water once Truman lake was dammed.

My mother was born in Neosho MO - and her father & grandfather, and her two brothers (aunt Nancy was born in CA in 1947) I still to this day say "Missour-a" like my family did even though I was born & raised in CA. Now I'm living my retirement life in western KY - much more homier than even the Ozarks.

As an Appalachian, y'all are a whisper of what we have to offer. All in good jest. I'm a Kentuckian. The Ozarks are (to us) an extension of our own culture, and we love to see it. Beverly Hillbillies was a staple of my childhood (along with other American staples like the Andy Griffith Show and Grand Ole Opry Live, plus Renfro Valley Gatherin' Radio). It's basically you and us left of the old American tradition. Boonesborough and Cave City were once the vacation destinations of America. Now they are practically ghost towns.

As someone from Rogers, AR, in beautiful Northwest Arkansas, I always thought it crazy the area of Walmart, JB Hunt, and Tyson was a "backwards" area, but I am also almost 33, so my scope doesn't go back as far as even the Bugs Bunny cartoon by a LONG shot, but really, other than a lack of decent infrastructure for lots of people right now, it's seriously one of the most pretty areas of America, and I've traveled and loved all over the country. We also have a world class art museum, one of the best bike trails in America, and we also have a rich, vibrant local art scene as well. There really is something for just about everyone these days ❤ I always recommend people come to the greater Northwest Arkansas area of Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale, and Fayetteville, if you ever get the chance. I also understand we have some growing pain problems as well, but I'm curious to learn more about the area, how we can make it better, and maybe shed some stereotypes of the past

Fun fact: when Osage Beach was founded, its name was Zebra. A tiff mining town, named after the striped pattern on the raw tiff. They rebranded to Osage Beach in the 20th century after the lake was created.

Enjoyed that; thanks for posting.

Loved the video. Being a resident of the ozarks for many years now I must point out one missing piece...DOGPATCH U.S.A.! I actually worked there the last years it was open and there were families that had been coming for decades. True, it was not a major influence but it deserves a mention. And the Li'l Abner cartoon that inspired the park. Thanks for the video.

I was born in Sikeston, raised in West St Louis County, fed at Steak 'n' Shake-reckon it is one in Springfield. As a demographer at the University of Missouri-Columbia, I worked on projects for the Ozark Regional Council and other local agency. Bravo!!!

I loved growing up in the Ozarks. I would always go fish the nearby river and look for arrowheads on the gravel bars. Its definietly a forgotten region in the United States but has some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere.

I'm from that tiny piece of Southeast Kansas. Spent most of my youth in the Ozarks and still visit there often. I love it there

No real mention of the Lake of the Ozarks? That place feels like an anomaly in the middle of nowhere; love going there every summer.

I live in Fayetteville and worked at Prairie Grove Battlefield Park in high school. Never knew you lived in this area. Love your videos!

As a fellow ozarkain who lives right in the middle of the Ozarks and explores them regularly, this is a great video, thank you for making it!!

I’m from Rockford Illinois and when I first met the woman who was to become my wife, she had such a southern accent that I almost needed a translator to understand her. She was from the Ozarks area.

I'm from Virginia and have seen a natural bridge before, I never knew they are from collapsed caves

I grew up in Ozark and I enjoyed this video very much. I have many fun stories about the area, including a cave being discovered in our backyard and National Geographic coming out. I’ve not seen our area get any recognition beyond Bass Pro Shops, and not many people even know that BP started in Springfield.

I lived on Taum Sauk mountain growing up .such a beautiful place in the winter and really just all year round .I used to run though the woods and streams on the regular .

I’m so happy to see one of my favorite creators is also from the Ozarks. Was not expecting that.

I grew up in Iowa but we visited the Ozarks numerous times beginning in the 1950s. I fell in love with the book “The Shepherd of the Hills” and eventually owned first editions of all of Rev. William Bell Wright’s novels and other books. Sadly, I don’t own them any more. By the way, Wright was a Protestant minister. Branson, Missouri now has its own airport. I’ve landed there and it is on a plateau surrounding by hills. Kind of scary. You neglected to mention that beneath the theme park Silver Dollar City is one of America’s biggest and best caves. Before Covid, Branson was a bustling tourist town filled with music theaters-mostly a destination for older folks. One of the best towns in the Ozarks is Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

As an ethnic and somewhat-cultural Cajun, I felt very much that comment about certain terms (like hillbilly in the video) being used with a sense of pride by natives, but was seen as an attack (because, honestly, it often is) when used by outsiders against that culture. I'm sure people can guess the main term in my case.

I am from the Ozarks! I have always loved what we represented - a simple life and the values that most of America could have cared less about. After retiring from the military, I once again made the Ozarks my home. The only thing I hate about it is all of the outsiders moving in and diluting who we are. I have and am today, proud to be from this area.

My mother was from a place she called "Kentucky Hollar" in the Missouri Ozarks. She was the 13th of 13 children. Her name was Ellen "Maxine" Adamson. She was born around 1925. The Adamson's were Scotch Irish and grew corn and her dad my grandpa had a corn whiskey still. My sweet mother got drunk for the first time at the age of 6 years old she told me. Wore her first shoes at 8 years old and only had an 8th grade education. They used a mule and wagon to get around. Well, the revenuers showed up one day and grandpa had to do some time. When he got out it was the 1930's. They sold the place and bought a model T. Loaded it up like in the movie "The Grapes of Wrath" and like many other Okie, Arkie's and Ozarkie's headed west, but instead of California where I now live, they made a right turn and went up to Idaho around the Rupert and Pocatello area where they found plots of land and raised crops and animals like pigs and chickens and when as a kid my mom took us up to Idaho to visit them they all seemed well fed and very content old country folks and they lived happily ever after. Thanks for making some things clearer to me about the Ozarks. Good job!

I'm from Vegas and I love visiting Branson and the Ozarks. We go boating and fishing there too. Really great people in the Ozarks.

I had no idea! When I was a teenager, I traveled with my best friend to stay with her grandmother for two weeks in two separate summers in Dardanelle, Arkansas. Her grandmother took us around the Ozarks and into a place in Oklahoma with a fort. I have always remembered the beauty of the Ozarks, but really didn’t understand the history. It’s kind of a story of if you can’t beat them join them and maximize on that. Oh, her grandmother also took me to the very first Walmart I ever went to. I think that might’ve been the first Walmart in existence?

Being born and raised here in the Ozarks where I still live today high on a ridge overlooking the MOARK border from AR this video is a fair assessment. I enjoyed watching it, thx.