History:

The Council has functioned under several names over the years. Prior to 1922 the Council was known as the Springfield Area Council. IN 1922 the name was changed to the Greater Springfield Council. IN 1941 the Council was known as the Ozark Empire Council. In 1985 the Council became the Ozarks Trails Council

Scouting has long had its place in the Ozarks and has been an integral part of the area for many years. The Boy Scouts movement sparked in Springfield, Missouri on the afternoon of Saturday January 27, 1912, when nine neighborhood children met and were “organized” as a troop at the home of their parents. Not long after, a student at Draughon Business College secured credentials and permission for the National Boy Scout Headquarters in New York City to form troops in Springfield. Five days after, the first troop, named the Bob White Patrol No. 1, was organized in Springfield, and the founder of the Boy Scouts, British General Lord Robert Baden-Powell, arrived in America. While on a world tour to promote Scouting, Powell truly sparked the Scouting movement and stated that, “If the government will give us the price of a dreadnaught (battleship), we will make dreadnaughts unnecessary.” This truly sparked the excitement of supporting Scouting and sparked kids all over the nation to experience Scouting first hand.