Local History Website of the SMSU Department of History

Junius Tennessee Campbell

Junius Campbell’s family was important in Springfield history.  In fact, his brother, John Polk Campbell, started the city.  In 1829, John Polk Campbell and his brother, Madison, traveled to the Ozarks.  They were from Tennessee.  Other Campbell family members followed.

Junius Campbell came to Springfield in 1831.  He came with his wife, Mary.  In the early 1830s, Junius did several important things.  He was the first justice of the peace in Springfield. He was also the first postmaster in Springfield.

Junius Campbell was most important for starting Springfield’s first store. He got his goods by horse and wagon. They came from Boonville. Boonville is on the Missouri River. 

One of  Junius and Mary Campbell’s children was named after John Polk Campbell. J. P. Campbell was born in 1835. He was one of the first children born in Springfield.  J. P. Campbell married Sue Gray and they had seven children. 

Most of the Campbells stayed in Springfield. Many were successful farmers.  Like his father and uncle, J. P. helped the city grow into the “Queen of the Ozarks” that it is today.

Author: Grant Miller
Source: R. I. Holcombe, History of Greene County, Missouri, 1883, and Jonathan Fairbanks and Clyde Edwin Tuck, Past and Present of Greene County, Missouri, 1915
Image, portrait of Junius Campbell, Courtesy of The History Museum for Springfield-Greene County
(For use in conjunction with the SMSU Campus Compact/WorldCom grant project. You must request permission from the History Museum for Springfield-Greene County to print, copy, or download this image for any other use.)