Springfield, Missouri: Trail of Tears and City Review

Located in the Southwest market area of Missouri, Springfield is one of the Best 25 Medium Sized Cities in America for jobs and business according to several economic and workforce publications. In addition, the Employment Review named the city among the Top 10 Places to Live and Work in the nation.

Springfield has been recognized as one of the best places to retire the United States by Where to Retire Magazine. National Geographic calls the city it one of the Top 50 Adventure Towns in the USA. Further the WHO (World Health Organization) has classified Springfield as a safe city.

Overall, Springfield has been rated in the Top 10 - 20 cities in America for just about every opportunity in life, including relocation prospects and good transportation.

Background

The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 included Missouri. The Delaware Nation of Native Americans were subsequently awarded land by treaty with the US Government at the location of Springfield's Sequiota Park and parts of the Galloway Village area. An additional 500 Kickapoo Nation people built their homes nearby. Reaching official status as a city in 1838, Springfield is located in Greene County, which takes nearly all of Southwest Missouri.

The Trail of Tears, beginning In 1838, was the long march required of the Cherokee Nation as they were forced westward the US from Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia. Their ancestors had migrated from the West and now, they themselves had to go back. Thousands of people died on the trail. They came through Springfield area along what is called the Old Wire Road. The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail auto tour runs along I-44 West and US Rt 60.

Later, Springfield was recognized as the starting point of Route 66 to California. US 66 was built westward from Springfield and also eastward back up to Lake Michigan at Chicago.

Top higher demanded jobs in the Springfield area are estimated by federal, state, and local analysts to be in a variety of industries, including Transportation, Freight, Skilled Labor, Insurance and Financial Products, Sales, Management, and Accounting.

Highest Number of Job Openings Through 2020:

1. Truck Drivers, Heavy & Tractor-Trailer
2. Registered Nurses [RNs]
3. Sales Reps in Wholesale & Mfg
4. Retail Salespeople and Customer Service Reps
5. Laborers and Freight Handlers
6. Waters and Waitresses
7. Various Clerks
8. Personal Care and Patient Care Techs
9. Janitors and Related Maintenance People
10. Managers - Operations and General Managers
11. Secretaries, Administrative Assistants, Personal Executive Assistants
12. Mainline Elementary School Teachers
13. First-Line Supervisors of Production & Ops Workers
14. Nursing Assistants
15. First-Line Supervisors of Salespeople

Additional trucking and distribution jobs are growing in this area also, because of the Underground Businesses that are expanding below the surface in some of the local caves.

Large numbers of additional jobs openigns are expected in the following positions:

• Bus & Truck Mechanics & Diesel Engine Specialists
• Machinists
• Bill & Account Collectors
• Printing Machine Operators
• Fire Fighters
• Dental Assistants
• Sales Reps in Wholesale & Mfg
• Radiology Techs
• Cost Estimators, e.g. Construction
• Business Operations Specialists

August 2015 saw over 9,500 job listings at any given point for Springfield.

The following highest-demand jobs were collected from all Internet sources by the job search and trending engines Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com.

1. Salespeople/Sales Associates
2. Registered Nurse - RN License
3. Patient Care Techs
4. Medical Assistants
5. Truck Drivers - CDL
6. Patient Services Staff
7. Environmental Services
8. Lab Assistants
9. Teaching Staff - Missouri State University
10. Programmers
11. IT Engineers
12. Restaurant Managers and Crew
13. Sales Managers
14. Physical Therapists
15. Sales Representatives

1. Mercy Health
2. Swift Transportation
3. Knight Refrigerated Trucks
4. CRST Trucking
5. Cox Health
6. Kum & Go - The 7th largest privately-held convenience store chain in the U.S. with over 430 stores in 3/2010 and expanding.
7. Missouri State University
8. St. John's Health System
9. US Army Health Care
10. Dollar General, Pizza Hut, Pizza Hut - Managers and Crew positions

1. St. John's Emergency Trauma Center & Hospital
2. Cox Medical Center South
3. WalMart
4. Springfield Public Schools
5. Southwest Missouri State University
6. State of Missouri - Government jobs
7. City of Springfield - Government jobs
8. Bass Pro Shops
9. Chase Bank Card Services
10. Citizens Memorial Healthcare

In 2002, a survey was completed regarding Female and Minority Owned Businesses in Springfield. This study showed the following business ownership categories, comprising nearly one quarter of all businesses in the City of Springfield:

• Female-owned: 3505 businesses
• Asian: 212
• American Indian and Alaska Native: 113
• Hispanic or Latino: 109

• Missouri State University
• Cox College of Nursing and Health Sciences
• Drury University
• Global University

Theological Schools

• Baptist Bible College
• CBC: Central Bible College
• Evangel University

Technical Schools

• Bryan College
• Everest College
• Ozarks Technical Comm College
• Vatterott College
• University of Phoenix

Many books have been written about the history of US 66 with its romance and mystery. An early TV show, Route 66, is part of American Folklore.

The mystery collection, Murder on Route 66, is a collection of assorted stories that occur along the historic highway to California during a course of several decades.

The stories begin at one end fo the highway in Chicago and make their way west. Written by well known writers, they are intriguing and entertaining.