red oak ii

This place is so neat. It has a history all of its own. Great place to take family pictures. Has old buildings, cars, and sculptures to reflect historic views

This place was worth while for sure. Watch out for Tom turkey, he is VERY protective of MS Hen Turkey

Interesting little community just outside of Carthage, recreates local heritage and small town life, created and maintained by artist Lowell Davis.

Red Oak was an unexpected treat, we saw it on the internet and was advised that we needed to go out and see it. I am so glad we did! You can tell an artist (and we met him) designed it all, very eclectic very well managed. We love the old church that they still have services at. And as a photographer I was in heaven!

My children and I visited Red Oak about 25 years ago because I am a fan of Lowell Davis' whimiscal art work. The iconic water faucet fountain is still there along with so much more. We were there for a class reunion event. It was a great venue because the spouses, like me, that don't know many people could wander around and enjoy the feel of an old country town. It's a place to visit over and over again just to see what's new.

I love history & old things & enjoyed seeing the buildings & things that were moved there. The day we visited the man that started it was outside working & he took us into his home & showed us some of his paintings & works. Really liked the old service station they are restoring, would like to see it when done.

We stopped in at Red Oak II before heading out on day two of our route 66 journey. Very cool restored town that is quite impressive. We were in awe of the work Lowell Davis has put into Red Oak!! We were fortunate to meet him and have him show us around. Definitely worth the stop to look around and enjoy the scenery! Great Day trip if you are in the area!

Red Oak is a life size model village. You just park up and wander round. Some of the houses were lived in (although we weren’t sure which ones) and we even had a friendly dog following us around. It was very quiet the day we visited and we were the only ones around for most of the time.It's tucked away down some long country roads - but well worth a visit.Best of all it's free.Recommend

We just spent an unforgettable hour and a half with Lowell Davis the creator of Red Oak II. His collection and restoration of buildings is just mind boggling! Throughout the extensive grounds are evidences of his humor and style. He also have us a tour of the inside of his home which features his sculptures and artwork. In so many ways he is a modern day Norman Rockwell. This is a "must do" along Route 66!

I was expecting 3 or 4 old houses - along the lines of many old heritage parks. But what I got was an entire village, including a graveyard, a church, historic buildings and humor and whimsy. If, as an artist, you want to leave a heritage, I don't think you could ask for a better one. And Mr. Davis himself is as delightful as his creation. There is a farm next door and so I got to watch 2 amorous tom turkeys trying to impress a hen, and talk to a peacock who was just out for a stroll from next door - 2 more things I wasn't expecting.

I did not know about this gem until I saw it on tripadvisor. My boyfriend and I were in Carthage for the day and I drive us out to see this small town. I wasn't thinking it would be but a couple houses, but it is quite a lot! It's like a little block of houses, church, sheriff's building, barn, and gas stations. The art is amazing! The water and bridges are hypnotic. We cannot wait to go back again and spend more time as it started to rain on us. Like many have said, bring your camera! And enjoy the peace.

Simple, Clean, Wonderful hidden place. I really enjoy visiting with Mr.Davis every time I visit, he is such a sweet man. I love having photography sessions out here at Red Oak II, so many different scenery for images. There is a small donation box next to the bridge, helps maintain the property and keep it beautiful!

Interesting little town outside of Carthage, MO. Lots of interesting things to see. We visited on a very slow day. There was a lot of neat art to look at. Great place to take pictures. It doesn't cost anything. Just park your car and walk around.

Red Oak II is a reproduction of a time in the youth of artist Lowell Davis. His family farm has been moved there, the blacksmith shop of his great-grandfather is there, as well as various other buildings from the past. Interspersed among these are delightfully whimsical creations from the artist himself. Mr. Davis lives in Red Oak II in a house that is half the home where Belle Starr was born, and half a home like where Belle Starr died. Although Mr. Davis sold all of the properties except his home, only two other properties are presently occupied. Mr. Davis met us at Red Oak II and gave us a tour, and sat and talked with us about his life. I bought a copy of his autobiography from him, because he is so fascinating. The cost is free to roam around. Be sure to say hello to the resident dogs.

Red Oak II is the creation of artist, Lowell Davis. After working for a decade in Dallas as an art director at an add agency Lowell Davis wanted to come back to his home of Red Oak Missoura. Big city life was not for him. The small rural community of Red Oak had fallen to ruin after World War II and many of its buildings were abandoned, crumbling and left to decay. Lowell wanted to preserve the history and so he bought the family farm near by and started to create his vision for moving and restoring buildings from the surrounding area.As a visual artist he made paintings, metal sculptures and created figurines that depicted rural life. The figurines turned into a financially successful line of collectables. This provided a means for him to realize and create Red Oak II which features a general store, church, schoolhouse, town hall, gasoline station, historic homes, old cars and trucks. What once was a corn field now preserves and holds a collection of Lowell's whimsical sculptures and a piece of American history. We loved it.