Modern Hill Woman

Cave Spring

It’s been a summer of day trips, mainly to once thriving towns, cemeteries and mills. People gathered at these water powered mills, located near springs, to grind corn and wheat, or saw lumber for homesteads. The springs often provided drinking water as well.

Now these mills are mostly ruins. They’re a reminder of how important water was to the success and growth of a town a hundred years ago.

My sisters and I recently visited Cave Spring at Hunter, Mo. The old dam in the cave is still there, and a deteriorating concrete structure downstream from the cave still stands. There is much speculation about what purpose this structure served. Some say it housed a still, others say it was a source for drinking water. In reality it housed a generator and batteries that powered a hydraulic ram jet pump which forced water up the steep hill over the cave. The family that owned the property cleverly harnessed the power of the spring so water didn’t have to be carried up the hill.

Eventually the house was fitted with running water and electricity, provided mainly by the spring.

Lost Man’s Cave is approximately 350 yards from Cave Spring. Tests with dye have concluded that the two are connected. Tours of parts of Lost Man’s Cave were at one time guided by the family who owned the property.

Years ago, there was a sign on Highway 60 attracting tourists to a small camp with cabins called Cave Camp near the spring.

The new town of Hunter was named in 1888 after John Hunter, a stockholder of The Missouri Lumber and Mining Company, established a sawmill at the site.

Eventually a railroad and depot, three hotels, a telephone company, two stores, a drug store , a bank, a school, post office, and churches were built.

There were 400 acres of orchards planted alongside the railroad to convince land buyers that the over-cut timber land was still productive. By 1902 the orchards planted around Hunter produced around 6,000 bushels of peaches in addition to other fruits. A cannery to process this fruit was established in 1903.

At its high point Hunter had a population of 700 before the boom ended. The town’s population is now 95 and only a few of the old buildings are still standing.

Sometimes I feel like the ghosts of the past are calling me to remind people of our local history before it is forgotten forever.