Step aboard and join the team of Retracing Our Roots as we explore the ambitious plans of the Ozarks Railroad Company to connect Springfield, Missouri, with Little Rock, Arkansas.
Victor Kleo Loba, raised in Noble, Ozark County, Missouri, emerged as a dynamic force in the Ozarks from 1910 to 1919—the year of his tragic assassination in Gassville, Arkansas. The inspiration and planning for the project rested squarely on Victor’s shoulders as he worked tirelessly from his office in Gassville, Arkansas, mapping a route through the heart of the Ozarks.
As surveys progressed, towns like Ava, Gainesville, and Mountain Home rallied behind the venture, pledging land and rights-of-way for depots and tracks. Citizens enthusiastically contributed money and purchased bonds, embracing this grand vision of progress.
At just 34 years old, Victor’s plans for the Ozarks Railroad Company were beginning to materialize. The railroad, dubbed “The Hand of Opportunity for the Ozarks,” promised to transform the region.
Tragically, Victor’s aspirations were cut short by a legal dispute with T. T. Lee. Amid growing tensions, Mr. Lee made threats. On November 21, 1919, Victor returned to his home near Gassville with an employee. As they sat down to a family meal in the dining room, a shot rang out. Seated with his back to the window, Victor was mortally wounded. He succumbed to his injuries within the hour, surrounded by his wife and two children.
A manhunt ensued for the suspect, T. T. Lee. Fleeing on horseback to Pontiac, Missouri, and then toward Springfield, Missouri, Lee was eventually captured, tried, and convicted. However, his sentence to the penitentiary in Little Rock was short-lived; the Arkansas governor swiftly issued a pardon. The reasoning—circumstantial evidence.
Victor Kleo Loba was buried in the historic Mountain Home Cemetery. Devastated, the Loba family—Victor’s widow and their two children—left Arkansas and relocated to Yakima, Washington, with family seeking a new start far from the place of their sorrow.
We learn the powerful lesson of how one life can make a difference, inspiring us to be a Hand of Opportunity to those around us.
We appreciate your support, emails, and suggestions; keep them coming! You are the key to local programming. As always, a special thanks goes out to Rapp’s Barren Brewing Company for sponsoring 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙪𝙧 𝙍𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙨!
