city, Taney county, southwestern Missouri, U.S., in the Ozark Mountains, 43 miles (69 km) south of Springfield, near the Arkansas state line. It is located on Lake Taneycomo (formed by the White River) and near Bull Shoals Lake, Table Rock Dam, and Table Rock Lake and State Park. It was named for Reuben S. Branson, an early settler who opened a store and post office there about 1882. The community and surrounding landmarks formed the setting for Harold Bell Wright's novel The Shepherd of the Hills (1907). Beginning in the early 1980s, country music stars from Nashville, Tenn., began building huge theatres along 5 miles (8 km) of road just west of downtown Branson. The popularity of these music shows has made Branson a family-entertainment and vacation centre. Silver Dollar City, a popular theme park with dozens of craftsmen demonstrating 1880s Ozark-style skills, is 9 miles (14 km) west. College of the Ozarks (1906), where students pay no tuition but work in college industries, is just south, at Point Lookout. Inc. 1912. Pop. (2000) 6,050; (2007 est.) 7,499.