SPRINGFIELD The county seat of Greene county, on Wilson's creek, a tributary of James river, 109 miles south-west of Jefferson city. The surrounding country is hilly and uneven, and well timbered. It contains a few stores, county buildings and offices, and a newspaper office. (Missouri State Gazetteer..., 1860)
SPRINGFIELD, the county-seat [Greene County, Missouri], is pleasantly and advantageously situated near the center of the county, surrounded by a wide expanse of fertile, agricultural land, bounded on the west and south by two large, rich prairies, divided into numerous well-cultivated farms. The buildings are neat and substantial, especially some of the public buildings, among which the Court-house and Methodist Church are two of the finest buildings outside of St. Louis—the latter having been built at a cost of $15,000. The streets are wide, and the numerous shade trees add much to its beauty and healthfulness. Springfield was incorporated as a city, December 13, 1855, and now contains a population of about 2000.
There are in Springfield 2 newspapers, 1 banker, 20 lawyers, 22 physicians, 29 merchants, 4 druggists, 3 silversmiths, 2 tinners, 13 blacksmiths, 6 wagon-makers, 2 saddlers, 4 tailors, 5 shoemakers, 4 cabinetmakers, 25 carpenters, 5 tobacco manufacturers, 1 steam and 4 water power saw-mills, 1 steam and 7 water power flouring-mills, 3 hotels, etc., besides manufactories of farming implements, and tanneries. (Parker's Missouri as it is in 1867..., 1867)