August 6th, 2021 … Summer of Fun continues! Day 10 Route 66 Caravan – Springfield, MO

This was a free day to explore the area. Charlie and I helped a few caravanners with issues on their rigs, then I headed to Fantastic Caverns with Cathy & Patti. Fantastic Caverns, is a ride-thru cavern and lies beneath the rolling Ozarks hills just north of Springfield. It is about five miles off Historic Route 66.

The cavern was discovered by John Knox and his hunting dog in 1862. Knox did not want the cave to be exploited by the Union or Confederate governments, so he kept the cave's existence quiet until 1867. Knox put an advertisement in the Springfield paper for someone to explore the cave. On February 27, twelve women belonging to the Springfield Women's Athletic Club explored Fantastic Caverns. These twelve ladies are considered the first explorers of the Ozarks cave. Their names are still visible on the cavern walls today and they were mentioned in an article published in the Springfield Tri-Weekly Patriot newspaper.

They have propane-powered Jeep-drawn trams that follow the path left behind by an ancient underground river and its first explorers. The temperature inside Fantastic Caverns always hovers at around 60 degrees. Once inside Fantastic Cavern, our tour guide explained the origins of the cave and its formations, including stalactites, stalagmites, columns, soda straws, flowstones, cave pearls and draperies.

Water infiltrating the cave from above can be seen sparkling on the tips of stalactites and soda straws. In time – a few minutes, perhaps hours – the water droplets will fall, leaving a tiny trace of limestone. As one drop falls, another will take its place. This process, a blend of stone, water and time, created the beauty visitors see within Fantastic Caverns today.

Since the flow of water and mineral deposits varied over the ages, it is impossible to determine the precise age of Fantastic Caverns or the formations the cave system houses. The exact age is known for only one formation – a tiny stalactite that began growing when a well driller’s bit accidentally pierced the cave’s ceiling in 1941.

However old the cave and its formations are, it is clear that their creation took a very long time, that they are irreplaceable, and that a moment’s carelessness or mismanagement could destroy them. Equally fragile are the species of wildlife that live in the cave, which include several rare or endangered animals. Creatures such as the Ozarks Cavefish, the Bristly Cave Crayfish and the Grotto Salamander are tiny, colorless and blind, having lost eyesight and body pigment after living in darkness for countless generations. Much of the cave life in Fantastic Caverns lives in the lower passage, a lower level of the cave that is inaccessible to visitors and that acts as a preserve. But, all those cave creatures have a direct link to the world above, and to us. Their food supply is washed down from the surface via groundwater.

In the 1950s, the name Fantastic Caverns was adopted. The first “ride-thru” tour at Fantastic Caverns was given in 1962. Prior to that, visitors toured the cavern on foot. The cave was used as a speakeasy during the Prohibition years and hosted live music concerts during the 1950s and 1960s. Live audiences came to see the “Farmarama” show, which was nationally broadcast on NBC radio stations. By 1967, visitation to the cave had grown to a level that it was difficult to host events and the show “Farmarama” was canceled. With the focus being on cave tours, improvements were made to the tour route, and in the early 1970s cave lighting expert Roy Davis installed the cavern lighting system, which was upgraded to LED lighting in 2017.

Over the years, Fantastic Caverns changed ownership and names. Some owners of the property chose to keep the cave private, others expanded the cave attraction business and some established a secondary business. The Campbell family has managed the property since 1966 and in 1992 they purchased Fantastic Caverns. Though it can be a massive undertaking for a small, family business, the current owners of Fantastic Caverns work daily to preserve the cave’s delicate system and encourage visitors to explore the relationship between cave life, groundwater and people. At Fantastic Caverns, all preservation and conservation efforts are funded through admissions. Within the cave, water and air quality is continually monitored for pollutants.

We wanted to get up close to the Pythian Castle, but we could not … so research and a few pictures that Patti could snap will have to do! The Knights of Pythias — a fraternal organization dedicated to loyalty, honor and friendship — had the Castle built in 1913. In those days, the work of the Knights was highly respected. Springfield outbid Kansas City and St. Louis for this Pythian Castle and promised a trolley line to downtown, the renaming of the street (now East Pythian Street), the construction of a nearby school, and the purchase of the 400+acre property, awarding the property to the Knights for only one dollar.

The Castle served dual roles for the order: a genteel rest home for aging knights’ widows and an orphanage for knights’ children. In the days before social workers and government-funded welfare, a major benefit of the fraternal order was a sense of security for loved ones. It could be an imperfect solution. The orphanage was open only to children of a knight. One mother brought her three children to the Castle to learn only two would be allowed. Her third child’s father had not been a knight and therefore was turned away, the family divided.

In the impressive foyer, matching staircases rise to the second floor. One for boys. One for girls. During the children’s stay at the Castle, boys and girls were kept separate at all times. One boy ran away when the loneliness simply got too much. His caretakers wouldn’t allow him to see his younger sisters, separated only by walls. The US military took over it in World War II to house POWs and to serve as a rehabilitation facility for US troops. In the 1940s, the swinging sounds of the era’s big bands filled the ballroom while US troops took to the dance floor. Today, the castle is privately owned and welcomes guests for a variety of tours, including a history tour that gives insight into the castle’s rich and storied past. There was a knock on the heavy oak door, a door sheltered beneath massive Carthage limestone. 

Tamara Finocchiaro, the castle’s newest owner, had taken on responsibility of this historic building after learning it was in danger of being leveled to make yet another parking lot. The renovated castle was re-opened to the public in 2010 as a venue for weddings, proms and other parties and now regularly schedules history tours, murder mystery dinners and late-night ghost tours. The Discovery Channel’s Ghost Lab featured the Castle in 2011. The ghost tours are particularly popular come October. The phases of the moon change the frequency of the ghost sightings. Halloween is an especially good time for ghosts!

On the road, we found Route 66 painted, naturally, we had to take a picture!

   

There were also some unique art and murals!

We stopped at the Rockwood Motor Court to get our Route 66 Passport stamped. In 1929, Rockwood Court was built on Route 66 and Deverne Ruckman began operating it as a Tourist Camp.  Mr. Ruckman also built a Shell Oil Filling Station and house on the property.  At that time, the address was 1902 College and the property was located on the west edge of Springfield. Through the era of the Great Depression, the Tourist Camp changed ownership and management many times.  In 1948, the address changed to 2200 W. College and the property was named Rockwood Motor Court.  That name has stuck with the cabins for 73 years. In 2019, marked the 90th anniversary of Rockwood Court and its place on Route 66.

All six cabins, as well as the filling station, café, and remaining single car garage, are original to the property.  One garage, on the south side, is no longer standing and that area has been converted to an outdoor gathering space.  The cabins are constructed of Ozark sandstone and trimmed with red brick.  The sawed sandstone gives the appearance of wood grain in the rock and it is believed the name Rockwood was coined from the distinctive pattern of the stone.  They are framed in native oak lumber with diagonal boxing under the stone exterior. The roofs are classic gables covered in composition shingles. 

In 2020, the restoration of the gas station and house, long operated as a restaurant, began and they will be returned to their original purposes. The stucco and rock house will become a part time residence for the owners and a part time short term stay rental.  The gas station will take on the look of a filling station again and become the tenth overnight rental unit with a gas station theme.

Our next stop was the largest fork! The giant fork in Springfield is impressive. At 35 feet tall and 11 tons, the fork angles up toward a three-story building occupied by Noble & Associates, a Springfield ad agency. Rumor has it, in 1998 the fork stood in front of a restaurant that failed on South Glenstone, in otherwise booming Springfield. The ad agency hauled the fork across town to its new office building, where it's been ever since. Noble does a lot of work for the food service and retail industry, so the fork makes sense. A plaque at its base brags that it's "The World's Largest Fork," which may be true. 

We enjoyed a pizza dinner at the Springfield KOA, they have a Hunt Pizza franchise in the KOA. The young couple that owns this KOA is doing an excellent job and they should be proud of their efforts! We enjoyed our time here!