FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Those interested in sharing feedback and helping plan for the future of the Galloway/Lone Pine area should plan to attend the second public input meeting at 5:30-7 p.m., May 14, 2019 at The Venues, 2616 E. Battlefield.
Two additional public meetings are planned later this month.
Galloway Village Neighborhood Association leadership and other stakeholders in the Galloway area have been meeting with City of Springfield staff and gathering input for the future development of the Galloway/Lone Pine area.
Senior Planner Olivia Hough is leading the engagement process.
“We have a great group of folks who are interested in seeing all the possibilities for Galloway while preserving the village’s history and unique character and charm,” Hough says. “Along with people who have chosen to live or do business in Galloway in recent years, we have families who have lived there for generations, starting at the turn of the century when Galloway was a company town operated by the quarry. We look forward to hearing all of the input from this wonderful varied group.”
The stakeholder group is comprised of Galloway Village residents, property owners and business owners; Ozark Greenways; the City’s departments of Public Works, Environmental Services Planning and Development; and the Springfield-Greene County Park Board.
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Background
In 2014, Springfield City Council adopted a blight study and redevelopment plan for the area north of East Lacuna Street and south to East Republic Road along the 3400 to 4100 blocks of South Lone Pine. Since then, development along the Lone Pine corridor from Battlefield to Republic Road has intensified. The unique topography of the area, along with increased retail and residential multifamily development has brought to light a variety of development issues.
After meeting with interested parties last fall, Zone 4 Councilman Matthew Simpson in requested a resolution for an administrative delay for rezoning and lot combinations in the Lone Pine corridor so that City staff could gather input and develop recommendations. The resolution was passed in November 2018. The 270-day development moratorium expires Aug. 2.
History of Galloway
(Source: OzarksAlive.com)
Nearly 200 years of history tie to the area today known as Galloway. It’s named for Major Charles Galloway, a Mexican-American War and Civil War veteran who was also a locally well-known farmer and merchant.
However, the first white man in the area is said to have been Jacob Painter. In 1840, abstract records show he spent $200 to purchase 160 acres of land that he later broke up and sold to locals.
Around a half-century later, the area’s main lifeblood — its quarry — really took off. It was purchased by Ash Grove Lime Works, (now Ash Grove Concrete) a transaction that seemingly happened in the 1880s.
Upon the purchase, the community grew, thanks to the relocation of employees to the quarry, which also had operations throughout the Ozarks.
The area along today’s Lone Pine Avenue was much different in those days. While the avenue ends near the intersection of U.S. 60 and 65, in the past it went through and was the first road to connect Springfield and Branson. It was a stop on the Chadwick Flyer, a rail route that went between Springfield and the Christian County town of Chadwick.
The area was also popular with tourists. Even in the late 1800s, visitors frequently came out to nearby Fisher’s Cave — at today’s Sequiota Park — for picnics and more.
At one point, the cave was used as a grocery store (operated by the aforementioned Maj. Charles Galloway); to raise mushrooms, rhubarb, celery and frogs, for their legs; and eventually, as a fish hatchery and state park, which spanned 1920 to 1959, when the operation was relocated to Table Rock Lake and the park was donated to the Park Board. Just down the road, Half-a-Hill, a popular dance hall, was added in 1920.
The City of Springfield annexed Galloway in 1969. It has since been home to hundreds of residents; a flock of peacocks; Galloway Baptist Church; several restaurants, bars and tea rooms; the Galloway Creek Greenway Trail, a pottery-painting business and a veterinary clinic.
In the late 1980s, the area became a destination for crafts and antiques, branding itself as Galloway Village. After the blight designation in 2014, three apartment buildings, a retail center and a spa have sprung up along Lone Pine, with other developments planned.
Galloway Village Neighborhood Association became the City’s 20th registered neighborhood in November 2018. The neighborhood associations service area boundaries are Battlefield Road to the north, James River Freeway to the south, U.S. 65 to the east and Glenstone Avenue to the west.
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For more information, please contact Olivia Hough at 417-864-1031 or Cora Scott at 417-380-3352.