A friend and I were out country cruising during a road trip to the Missouri Ozarks.  As we drove along I noticed, off in the distance, a structure or what was left of it, which grabbed my attention.

As we got closer to the site my curiosity was at its peak.

We parked the car at the base of the hill on which these ruins stood. I looked for a marker of any kind that might identify what this place once was, but there was nothing.  Along the way to the top of the hill I looked for anything that might tell anything of the property, but still nothing. Once at the top of the site we discovered what must at one time have been a grand home. Or so it would seem.

All that remained of the once grand structure were two towering stonework chimneys, two stonework and concrete stair cases, a poured concrete basement, and what appeared to be the poured foundation and supports for a stable.

0736 The site was terribly overgrown and it was apparent it had been vacant for some time. No one had taken the time or care to remove trees that sprung up close to the foundations. There was no worn path to indicate it was a place where people explored much at all.

The foundations were massive with sprawling areas of square footage. I checked places throughout the site thinking I might find some inscription in the foundation or possibly the stair cases, as some folks make when they pour concrete, but there was nothing I could find.

Strange to me was the location, out in the middle of nowhere in the Missouri’s Ozarks, the closest township miles away.

Ever stranger was my obvious fascination with the site. Although not much was left standing, I must have spent at least two hours roaming around the place in wonderment and snapping images here and there.  

Someone with obvious money and influence had built this structure. The average country folk could not have afforded such a homestead.

What would it have looked like in its heyday? How many rooms did it once contain? How many horses might have been boarded within its stables? How many people had lived here? What would the interior have looked like in a home of such size and grandeur? What year had it been built?

When had it fallen in ruin? Had there been a fire? The truly pressing question was why had no one ever rebuilt on this site? It was a fabulous site, atop a hill, just a stone’s throw from one of Missouri’s most beautiful river ways.

Many questions swam through my mind as I walked every square foot of the place.  I imaged more than one scenario for this site and wondered if I would ever know what it was or how it had fallen into such ill repair. I imaged how it might have been to have lived there.
During each step of the way I got the distinct feeling I was being guided somehow, by something or someone unseen.  I didn’t feel creeped-out or endangered in any way, just somehow maneuvered throughout the tour. Whatever it might have been, it made me feel welcome and it made me want to stay. I was in absolute awe if even the word awe could describe it.

Alas my friend was bored and it was time to get back on the road to home. Reluctantly I walked back down the hill to the car, looking back over my shoulder more than once. I was sad to leave although the evening sky was growing dim. I got the feeling I was welcome to stay as long as I would have liked.

Upon arriving home I downloaded the images and viewed them one by one looking for any clue I might have missed on my physical inspection. Questions about the site still ran through my head in abundance, even more so than they had when I had been on the actual grounds.