Roaring River State Park is a public recreation area covering of 4294 acre 8 mi south of Cassville in Barry County, Missouri. The state park offers trout fishing on the Roaring River, hiking on seven different trails, and the seasonally open Ozark Chinquapin Nature Center.

History

Land for the park was originally donated by Thomas Mark “Doc” Sayman, a medicine-show man who made millions peddling patent medicines and soaps during his traveling tent shows in the early 20th century. When Sayman failed to get the game and fish commission to buy property at Roaring River Spring, he purchased 2,400 acres which he then turned over to the state. The original park was acquired in 1923, and developed between 1933 and 1939 by the Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration.

Historic sites

The park includes several resources dating from the 1930s that were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and that are also included in the Emergency Conservation Work (E.C.W.) Architecture in Missouri State Parks, 1933-1942, Thematic Resources.