Clever is a city in Christian County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, Clever had a population of 2,918. It is part of the Springfield, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. Clever, like the rest of Christian County, saw a significant increase in population between 2000 and 2010.
Geography
Clever is located on the Springfield Plateau of the Missouri Ozarks, southwest of Springfield at an elevation of . The town lies in the western panhandle of Christian County, just south of Missouri Highway 14 between Nixa and Billings. The town of Republic and the Wilson's Creek National Battlefield are approximately six miles to the north and northeast.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.
History
Lincoln Township and the land that would eventually become the town of Clever remained largely unsettled for many years after Missouri became a state in 1821. A U.S. Government land survey was not conducted until 1834, and the first land transaction was not registered until 1845. More settlers came to southwest Missouri by the Old Wire Road. Following a portion of the Great Osage Trail, the road extended from St. Louis, Missouri southwest to Fort Smith, Arkansas, passing through Springfield, Missouri and on through Christian County. Supply trains and settlers headed for Fort Smith arrived. The Butterfield Overland Mail Route 1858–1861 period passed through after a change of horses at Ashmore Station. A telegraph line ran along the same route as well, giving rise to its name.
General Benjamin McCulloch|right|thumb
Prior to Clever's existence as a town, a Civil War battle took place nearby. On August 2, 1861, the Battle of Dug Springs pitted the Union forces of General Nathaniel Lyon against the numerically superior combined Confederate forces of General Benjamin McCulloch, Arkansas State Troops under General Nicholas Bartlett Pearce, and Missouri State Guard under General (and Missouri Governor) Sterling Price. The battle, along present-day Old Wire Road, was the first time during the Missouri Campaign of 1861 that the Union "Army of the West" and Confederate forces met in conflict.
Its location on the railroad meant an opportunity for entertainment not normal for a typical small town of the era. A series of Chautauqua events over the course of several summers entertained the residents, as did famed showman and Wild West figure William "Buffalo Bill" Cody in 1913. Famed ragtime composer and pianist Blind Boone performed in concert at the Clever school gym.