Bull Shoals was named by early French hunters and trappers.  They used the word " b o i l l " which meant 'large spring' in French. The 'boills' were great springs feeding Shoal, Indian, Center and Spring Creeks.  In the mid 1800's, Edmund Jennings, a native of North Carolina, came into the Ozarks Region from Jackson, Tennessee, and lived among the Indians for about 15 years. And though Jennings is credited with being the first English speaking person to visit this portion of the White River country, Henry Schoolcraft  (See: Henry Schoolcraft's 1818 Ozark Journal) and Levi Pettibone actually taversed the left bank of the White before 1820.  Jennings then returned to Tennessee to astound his friends with his tales.  He called the Ozark region the "country of the Six "Boills," pronouncing "boills" as bulls.  Pioneers moving into the region retained the "bull" pronunciation. According to legend, this is the source of the name Bull Shoals.       Bull Shoals WEATHER