Next markers on Springfield’s African-American Heritage Trail mapped and ready

Illuminating local history and celebrating unsung heroes, the Springfield-Greene County African-American Heritage Trail is preparing to grow. Eight markers on trail are in place already. In 2018, the first one was dedicated near Timmons Temple — now called Timmons Hall — in Silver Springs Park, the only Springfield public park open to Black residents during segregation. It was a hub of family life and social gatherings. The most recent marker — added in August 2024 — was for Mary Jean Price Walls, the first Black applicant at Missouri State University. Qualified yet denied, she later received an honorary degree and the Multicultural Resource Center on campus now carries her name. Other existing markers denote the locations of once-thriving Black-owned businesses, historic Black churches, a school and cemetery, as well as the horrific 1906 Easter lynchings on Park Central Square. “We have identified 23 locations in total that we would like to eventually mark,” said Lyle Foster, a co-organizer of the trail. “We are in the process of raising money and working toward reaching that goal. We see the trail as an ongoing process.” The ninth marker will be dedicated in February on the campus of Drury University. Referred to as...