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cn*ofhe4ftin-allsofoolVKJcedthealeses the his i a the ghtisingSTS,«P*the2ay,ea*theea,ingirstikethevas:hisnektoliedtee-Itoaton,:ak-ree-of: toup-ing-sideow-ielei ini athe 1 ofe ifuto-e at ght,bingid a I to.Here-ken. at-amewastingange l atAm.linedBeautiful SagmountOnce the most popular resort in the area, Sagmount Inn is shown in the top photo about 1950. As a resort area Sagmount had an inn, hotel, tennis, shuffleboard, cottages, swimming pools, and other facilities. One of thethree swimming pools is shown in the lower photo. The resort is now the Sagmount Baptist Youth Camp, operated by the Baptist Bible Fellowship of Springfield.Now a camp for youths . . .Resort area near Joplin remainsthrough the years a place of joylt;#By JOANNIE KIDDERSagmount is the most glorious spot in the Ozarks. Nothing has been spam! to give you complete enjoyment and the entire staff is at your service day and night to care for your every need. .So read a brochure some years ago, inviting tourists from all over the country to spend their vacation at the Beautiful Sag-'mouht Resort” located seven liles southeast of Joplin on old highway 71. The resort is now a summer Bible youth camp facility.Originally part of a 360-acre farm, the 15 acres later including the resort area was a source of many natural springs. This constant supply of spring water gave the late Samuel Walker an inspiration to build a spring-fed swimming pool where people might cool off and have fun.Reports vary as to when the first of many facilities were built. A reliable estimate places the opening of the resort with the first swimming pool about 1912 with a very good business being established by the 1920s. Sam Walker later sold the property to his brother, the late J. Frank Walker.Sagmount seemed to reach its peak as a widely known resort and recreation area with the addition of an inn, hotel and other facilities in the 1930s.The inn contained an office, lobby, dining hall, kitchen, ballroom, orchestra platform, and living quarters. A 28-room hotel built later boasted 14 baths for the 28 rooms. The second floor rooms opened onto a balcony encircling the large lobby. A stone fireplace took the chill out of the air, and an unique air cooling system kept the building cool in warm weather.Reports say the hotel at Sagmount was the first naturally air conditioned building in the area. A cave beneath the building provided much of the natural limestone used in construction of the stone and concrete buildings. A stream ran through the cave, keeping it very cool. Through a system of duct work and a 36-inch fan, this cool air was forced up into the hotel building, keeping it approximately 58 degrees.Floors in the hotel, inn and four cottages were made of oak, pine, maple, or quarry tile. Large fireplaces heated the cottages, and a boiler systemwarmed the hotel and inn.One of the main features of the area was the huge Sagmount spring, a landmark in the trea sinfce the region was first settled. The spring provided water for the three swimming pools and two ponds, and tested between 96,98 and 99 per cent pure.Whep complete, the facilities in the recreation area included the spring, two swimming pools of nine-foot depth, a three-foot deep children’s pool, two ponds, a lake stocked with bass, crappie,perch and catfish, a riding stable and bridle paths, bath houses, two artesian wells, a cold water drinking fountain, concession stand and lunch room, picnic area with shelter, tables, camp-.ing stoves, a tennis court, two shuffleboard courts, a croquet court, and a horseshoe pitching area.The Walkers owned and operated the resort until about 1940, when they began leasing it out to olher managers. The resort« iUtilitygrossrevenue upKANSAS CITY (AP) — The Gas Service Company today reported gross revenue for the seven-month period ended July 31 was $78,225,801, comparedwith $74,360,773 for the corresponding period in 1967.R.M. Power, board chairman and chief executive officer of the utility, reported that for the 12-month period ended July 31, gross revenue was $115,619,058 compared with $109,603,163 for the same period one year ago.After provision for preferred dividends, the net available for the common stock for the seven month period ended July 31 was $3,677,501, or $1.08 per share, compared with $3,737,696, or $1.10 per share for the seven-month period a year ago. For tl}e 12-month period ended July 31, net income available for common stock was $3,788,546, or $1.11 per share, compared with $3,938,353, or $1.16 per share for the same period one year ago.The Federal Income Tax Surtax for the seven and 12 months periods ended July 31, was $368,911t or 11 cents per share of common stock.Holiday Innscheduledfor PittsburgPITTSBURG, Kan.—Pittsburg will apparently be the site of a new Holiday Inn motel complex, according to Tom Bay, city manager.The plan for the area where the motel will be located will go before the planning and zoning board Wednesday, It will have to be approved by the city commission.The motel is to be located in the sit of the present Golflandon Parkview drive.Days Since Last TrafficFatality In JoplinKILLEDThis year Last year ACCIDENTS This yearLast yearINJURIESThis yearLast yearto inte t 3to date ..... 3* • .• /* %. *to dote W to date ...... 900to date ..... 29? to date ......309did a booming business and buiit up a famous name throughout the country. But when highway 71 was rerouted in 1942 about three miles . west of the resort, traffic and business through Sagmount dwindled. During the war years the resort was quite popular with the Camp Crowder set, but Sagmount never fully regained its popular position. When J. Frank Walker died in 1947 the Sagmount property was held : in estate until about 1950.In July of 1951 the Sagmount farm and resort, was sold to the late R. Y. Hopkins and Mrs. Hopkins, owners of the Southern Garage in Joplin, who operated it as a resort. Hopkins sold the 15-acre resort area in 1952 to evangelist Billy James Hargis, who operated it mainly as headquarters for his Christian Echoes National Ministry organization. The property was tied up in a legal matter until about 1956, when the Hopkins regained possession.During 1957 and 1958 the Hopkins again operated the resort,but sold it for $50,000 in 1960 tothe current owners, the Missouri-North Arkansas Baptist Bible Fellowship of Springfield.The group holds two Baptist Bible Fellowship camps there each summer, and rents the camp out to other church groups the remainder of the summer. All of the resort buildings, including the cabins, are used, with a capacity of about 700 children. An average of 500 youngsters per week from the entire Four-State area enjoy the Sagmount Baptist Youth Camp.Two swimming pools are in use, and activities include tennis, softball, volleyball, swimming, basketball and ping-pong. The morning hours of the camp consist of religion classes held on the hillsides in small groups.Each camp group brings its own program and its own counselors, cooks, and nurse. The local manager and handyman, as he calls himself, is the Rev. Gene Eidson, pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Joplin.The Fellowship has remodeled all of the buildings since 1960 £t a cost of some $140,000. In addition,. a $50,000 dining hall and kitchen was built with construction completed thi3 summer. Thisfall the group plans to build a 150-foot bathhouse.Before the group had a camp of its own it rented camps each summer. “We outgrew anything we could rent,” says Mr. Eidson. “Sagmount. is the largest camp in the state.”During the off-season the campis rented occasionally to churchgroups, and is kept busy duringthe entire year.“It’s quite t place for the kids, they really enjoy it,” .says Mr. Eidson. “And you know, we have never had a serious accident in« • I • . ■these eight years, not even a broken bone.It’s quite a place all right, as many people can recall, and although used forJ a -different purpose; now, Sagmount is still, providing enjoyment and creating memories as ’the most glorious spot in the Ozarks.”Schprotealt;Arountlin R-B s R-7, Car and pari county \ riculum Septemb school.Sponso Missouri ment Ct program ants froOn thprogramteachersmary |grades,remediaOn th will be agricultttion, ci mics, ii arts, m sicai ecstudies, Regist o’clock final se o’clockThreorrasepcWAMl young prelimii on two murderyoung v Arraijeach p Judge ordered RolanJames 1 prelimiiAug. 27 nis R. 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Newspaper Details
Joplin News Herald
Joplin, Missouri, US
Tue, Aug 20, 1968
Page 16
Full Page
Clipped by
Joplin P.
MO, USA 14 Oct 2021
Other Publications Near Joplin, Missouri
Joplin Globe
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Joplin News Herald
Joplin Daily Globe
