The engine's piercing whistle blast and the rhythmic beat of metal wheel upon metal rail in 1881 were the recognizable sounds of progress and prosperity for many wishing to push west across the American expanse. The advent of the railroad in the nineteenth century gave birth to hundreds of communities, and Rogers was one such town created by the extension of this iron network across a changing national landscape. Set upon the Ozark Plateau, Rogers evolved from a hunting ground of the Osage Indians into a bustling railroad stop, attracting scores of new people and industry into the northwest...