Fair Grove Area Community Foundation

The Chamber of Commerce requests that you carefully read and respond to the following by donating generously to the Foundation. This will be an important tool for the future economic development of our community. It is important to the success of this project that you donate soon, in order to qualify for matching funds.

Click here to go to the donation website.

Fair Grove is a small town in Greene County Missouri

Home of the historically important Wommack Mill, Fair Grove was a farming community founded in the early 19th century, and is now a thriving small town that offers a friendly atmosphere in which to live and do business. It is located on the modern four-lane U.S. Highway 65, and is approximately ten miles north of Interstate 44. Drive time to the center of Springfield in normal traffic is under thirty minutes. Check into the categories below for details:

Fair Grove Community

The business community is active and the population is growing. The majority of residents work in Springfield and enjoy our peaceful small-town atmosphere at home. Most local businesses focus on serving this market. One dominant local industry in the area is agriculture, with a number of large and small ranches, hay farms, beef and cow/calf operations. City government is vigorous and progressive in promoting the town and aiding the business community.

We have a small historic downtown and several buildings that date from the 19th century. Most of these buildings are home to small retail businesses and restaurants. A few still await the right person to refurbish them and open a new business. There are also several small shopping centers and commercial areas, with room for growth. Three banks are located in Fair Grove.

Fair Grove is host to a major annual event, the Fair Grove Heritage Reunion, held on the last full weekend of September. Originally organized to help fund the restoration of Wommack Mill, a steam powered grist mill which has now been almost completely refurbished, this event attracts tens of thousands of people each day of the event. The Heritage Reunion is renowned for the quality of the exhibits and booths, attracting the best crafts people who come from long distances to sell antiques, and original or handcrafted wares to the crowds.

We invite you to live, work, educate your children and start your business in Fair Grove.

Chamber Membership

Most local businesses belong to the Chamber, and it's a great place to make contacts, stay abreast of local events, and help plan for common promotions. Minimum charge for a business to join is $30/year, depending on the number of employees. We meet at noon on the first Tuesday of each month at O'Bannon Bank, and lunch is provided. Download this form and fill it out on your system, then send it in to join the Chamber.

Schools

With an excellent school system, rated Class A by the state, Fair Grove R-X District has 1,130 students from Pre-kindergarten through Grade 12. The PTO and community at large are actively involved in supporting the school and extracurricular activities and sports.

This is a map of the Fair Grove R-X School District.

In addition, the following colleges and universities are within a 30 minute drive:

Missouri State University - state funded
Drury University - private
Evangel University - affiliated with Assemblies of God Church
Southwest Baptist University - Affiliated with the Baptist Church
Ozarks Technical Community College - local tax funded

Utilities & Services

Fair Grove has planning and zoning ordinances, as does Greene County. Both city and county have well-maintained streets and roads with asphalt and concrete surfaces. Fair Grove has a sanitary sewer system. A water system covers the town and the surrounding area in the county. Electricity is provided either by Empire District Electric or by Southwest Electric Co-op.

Propane is the only option for gas service.

Fire protection is provided by the Fair Grove Fire Protection District. The district currently has an ISO Class 5 rating. Details are here.

The map of the Fire Protection District is the same as the school district map, which you can link to in the section above.

Internet Access

We offer AT&T telephone land lines, and very good coverage by the following cell phone providers. Your experience may vary depending upon location.

AT&T
Verizon
T-Mobile
Sprint

The following companies provide high speed internet service to satisfy any speed and budget requirement.

December 2018 - Total Highspeed (a good member of the Chamber) is currently involved in running fiber optic cable to every household in Greene County and will shortly complete this phase of the project. In fact, Fair Grove is the first community to be wired in this project. The long range plan announced by Total Highspeed is to provide fiber optic to their entire service footprint, which is a substantial part of Southwest Missouri. Fair Grove is the first community to get this service, and in a couple of months it will be active. They will be working out from here to cover all of Greene County, then out to other counties. This is a tremendous step up in technology for small businesses in our community. Click the Total Highspeed link below for more information.

Total Highspeed - wireless & fiber
AT&T - DSL and fiber optic
Windstream
Show-Me Technologies - fiber optic
Net Vision - wireless

Transportation

Fair Grove is located astride U.S. Highway 65, a modern four lane highway. The four lane system extends south into Arkansas, and north to Buffalo MO. U.S. 65 ties into I-44, so four lane transportation is continuous. Travel to Kansas City via four-lane highways Missouri Highways 13 & 7 and I-49, is three hours. Travel to St. Louis or Tulsa OK is also approximately three hours on I-44.

These air transportation facilities are available:

Springfield-Branson National Airport (GA details here) is about a thirty minute drive. General aviation and commercial terminals. Major airlines connecting to several major hubs include the following:
- American Airlines
- Allegiant
- Delta
- United
Springfield Downtown Airport (details here) is about a twenty minute drive. General aviation.
Buffalo Municipal Airport (details here) is about a twenty minute drive. General aviation.
Bolivar Municipal Airport (details here) is about a thirty-five minute drive. General aviation.
Beckner Field Airport (details here) near Marshfield MO is about a thirty minute drive. Private airport, permission required to land.

Chamber Officers