Missouri’s Healing Springs:

Most people may not realize this, but Missouri has been on the forefront of “alternative” health for more than 100 years. Osteopathic Medicine was developed in Kirksville but Dr. Andrew Taylor Still as a way to treat illness within the context of the whole body. A man from Mill Spring named Bernarr MacFadden practically invented what is known today as the wellness movement. And people flocked here to enjoy Missouri’s Healing Springs. That’s the reason so many cities and towns grew around lakes, rivers, and springs.

When the medicinal water fad was growing across the country in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, springs became all the rage for health fanatics. So these natural sources of water became big business. Missouri’s unique topography with numerous caves and abundant springs were perfectly poised to satisfy the needs of patrons seeking better health through the environment. Even today, these springs still attract millions of visitors a year to enjoy the natural beauty throughout Missouri.

Significant Missouri Healing Springs:

Excelsior Springs:

This spring north of Kansas City became a travel destination as people flocked to the area to partake in the healing “medicinal” value of the water. The water around Excelsior Springs was reported to have cured several people of their ills, including tuberculosis, so a health spa and resort developed around the water source.

Excelsior Springs still draws thousands of visitors a year to see the area now branded as, “The Home of the World’s Greatest Grouping of Mineral Waters.” You can still get the celebrity treatment with a weekend at The Elms Hotel and Spa.

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Welch Spring:

One of the lesser known springs in the state of Missouri, this location along the Current River near Van Buren was thought to be a cure-all for the ills of society. A doctor from Illinois built the Welch Spring Hospital near the entrance to the cave where the spring came out.

Dr. Christian Diehl had the vision for a natural spa where visitors could enjoy the cool, pollen free air from the cave and the natural water from the spring. The Hospital never took off due to the remote location and the site eventually fell into disrepair. The stone ruins still sit along the river for canoeists to see.

Loutre Lick:

The unusual name of this mineral spring comes from a combination of the French word Loute (Otter) and Lick from a nearby salt lick in the river. The history of this area being used as a ‘healing spring’ dates back to Daniel Boone and Thomas Hart Benton. This is where they came for relief from their illnesses. It ultimately developed into what is likely the first health spa of this type in Missouri.

In the 1800’s, medicinal water was becoming a huge fad. It was such a draw that the area near present day Mineola had a tavern, cabins and a hotel for sick people to go and get well.

El Dorado Springs:

There isn’t much to see any more with this spring, but the water from the spring in western Missouri was once touted as a medicinal cure. Native Americans used to bring sick members of their community to this spring. But it wasn’t until an Arkansas farmer’s sick wife began to get well after drinking from the spring that interest in the area began to expand.

The town grew from the interest in the mineral-rich spring as bathhouses and spas popped up around the area. El Dorado Springs now has a population of 3,493 and is still a delightful town to visit and explore. It’s a special treat when the city band plays in the bandstand. They are branded as Missouri’s oldest municipal band still performing.

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Aurora Spring:

Aurora Spring is all but forgotten by most people, but it was once the largest town in Miller County thanks to a mineral spring in the area. People flocked to the area to live and to get health after the area became known as “The Great Sanitarium of the West” in the mid-1800s. According to an article in the Jeffeson City News Tribune in 2007, “It became so popular that it was overrun with pleasure-seekerss, invalids, picknickers, ect.”

At its peak, the boom-town of 700 residents and plenty of visitors had a busy business district. It had three hotels, three lawyers, four doctors, and six churches that all came about in a rather short period of time. The town grid was laid out and plots were sold, and the Missouri Pacific Railroad built a train station nearby in an area that became known as West Aurora.

But as quickly as the town sprang up, it went away nearly as quickly. Lawsuits over who owned the land and the location of new rail lines north of the town pretty much destroyed the prospects for growth. Eldon became the “go-to” town in the area and Aurora Springs became a spot on the side of the road west of U.S. Route 54 along the Saline Creek.

Pertle Spring:

Many people in Warrensburg know this area as home to a nearby golf course and the University of Central Missouri. But they may not realize the amazing history surrounding the actual spring.

The sulfur spring drew thousands of visitors with the belief that the smelly, oddly colored water would heal them. Pertle Spring was such a big draw that a resort was eventually built near the spring, making it one of Missouri’s largest attractions at the time.