MCLELLAN SPRINGS, Cass Co., MO

MCLELLAN SPRINGS

Cass Co., MO

McLellan Springs is located three miles east and two miles north of the town of Drexel, Missouri. On November 10, 1885, Minard A McLellan and his family moved onto a farm located in the northwest quarter of Section 22, Township 43, Range 33, in Coldwater Township.

Mr. McLellan suffered from Bright’s disease, but soon after moving to the farm he recovered and decided that the oddly flavored water from the 75-foot well on his property had curative property, especially for kidney diseases.

In 1888, McLellan erected a new two-story house and began to offer room and board to persons who wanted to try the curative properties of his well. By 1892, his property had become known as McLellan Springs, and by the late 1890s the well had come under the management of the National Sanatorium Company of Kansas City, who named it “Fountaine Elixir.”

Old county maps show a town by the name of McLellan Springs. It consisted of three blocks, with residence sections on the east and west ends, and a park containing the well in the center. Mr. McLellan died in 1918, and the place became neglected.

The residence built by Mc. McLellan was in use and was owned by John A. Bartholomew. The remainder of the land became farmland. The well had caved in and was never restored.

Researched and copyrighted ©by Donald L. Meador Sr.

Used here by his permission.

This was our Ghost Town of the Month for Nov 2007.

Location:

· Sec 22, T43N, R33W

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