Unattended Death and Biohazard Cleanup in Clever, MO

Clever is a city in Christian County, Missouri, nicknamed the "Summit City" for its location at 1,398 feet of elevation on the Springfield Plateau of the Missouri Ozarks.

Clever got its name in 1896 when its first postmaster, Frank Netzer, surveyed his store customers after the federal government's first choice was rejected, and customer Tom Lentz suggested "Clever" because the young community's residents were friendly and wise.

The Old Wire Road, which followed part of the Great Osage Trail from St. Louis to Fort Smith, passed through the future Clever area, and the Butterfield Overland Mail used the route from 1858 to 1861.

On August 2, 1861, the Battle of Dug Springs was fought near present-day Clever, where General Nathaniel Lyon's outnumbered Union forces defeated a combined Confederate force eight days before the much larger Battle of Wilson's Creek.

Clever was officially platted in 1905 when Missouri Pacific Railroad surveyors laid out a Springfield-to-Crane route through the crossroads, and residents incorporated the town in February 1909.

By 1908 the railroad boom had given tiny Clever a hotel, a lumber yard, a photography studio, a bank, a movie theater, and a flour mill.

Clever's small-town railroad fame brought unusual entertainment for its era: Buffalo Bill Cody performed there in 1913, and ragtime pianist Blind Boone gave a concert in the school gymnasium.

Clever's population was just 248 in its first census in 1910 and stayed around 500 through the mid-20th century, before exploding as a Springfield suburb to 1,010 in 2000, 2,139 in 2010, and 2,918 in 2020.

Clever's 2,918 residents in 2020 lived in 1,070 households, and with a median age of just 29.9 years and children in 44.4% of households, it is one of Missouri's younger, family-heavy communities.

Clever sits in Christian County, which was the fastest-growing county in Missouri between 2000 and 2010 thanks to Springfield's expansion.