Nestled in the hills along the Missouri River in eastern Missouri, Pea Ridge Forest started as a Christmas tree farm when Myron Gwinner, the previous owner, planted the first trees in 1955. Naive and overly optimistic about what it takes to produce quality trees, LeRoy and Mary Rood bought the farm, literally, in 1972 and subsequently fell in love with the place. LeRoy and Mary instilled their love for the land and their work in their sons, Mike and Scott. Pea Ridge Forest is now a family run business with a shared business philosophy, strong work ethic and commitment to quality trees.

It seems to be working. What was once a small operation is now a successful choose and cut Christmas tree farm. We have also diversified in the past few years by adding nursery stock to our production program. We grow a diverse selection of evergreen and deciduous trees which are wholesaled as balled and burlapped trees to landscape companies and retail garden centers. The boys instigated this new facet of the operation after their return from college and it is an excellent complement to the Christmas tree business, in fact the B&B business has surpassed the Christmas tree operation!