Missouri Derelicts and Highway History

Secondary highway travel in the Ozarks is often a side show of the downtrodden and run down, a collective drive-through history of the cycle of attraction and commerce. Life-giving traffic and dollars take the path of least resistance via the newest and latest conveyances between two points. Ringing registers leave the beaten path for downturns and neglect, and the economic ruins in turn develop their own patina of interest. Let's stop for a couple of these sights along the way.

Skelly Gas Station
Highway 37 - Butterfield, MO
[Google Maps]



As we've seen in a past edition, I regard old service stations as a fascinating and essential hub of auto travel. One that I have passed with interest for years is a shabby Skelly Oil building beside Missouri 37 on the outskirts of the hamlet of Butterfield. The town is just a skip from the an 1860s stagecoach stop on the Butterfield Overland Trail route, but the vitality of history has long abandoned this gas stop. The Skelly Oil Wikipedia entry notes the chain was founded by oil entreprenuer Bill Skelly of Tulsa fame, and that the Skelly diamond was popular throughout the Midwest until the brand was merged with Getty Oil in 1977.



While the cinder block building is not especially stylish, it has not been razed even after decades of disuse and remains a capsule of former glory. Even the refrigerator cases remain inside, though much of the glass has been disturbed by bored vandals. The site has an interesting detached outdoor sale stand made of ornamental blocks so popular in the middle of the century. Out front, the weathered pumps without card readers make for a rare sight today, and the automobile service bays are an almost forgotten commodity. In an era of petroleum dominated by high-profile mega-corporations, a fairly intact station with regional branding is a uncommon find.




Truitt's Cave
Highway 59 - Lanagan, Missouri
[Google Maps]


Caves have always been a staple of Ozark roadside attractions. The region's limestone machinations lend themselves to ready-made underground tourist stops, but many cave operations suffered as the number of paying troglophiles left the back roads in favor of major interstate travel and attractions beyond. One local example is Truitt's Cave, with its shuttered facade still visible from Highway 59 in Lanagan, Missouri. As we saw in a previous post about the highway, it hosts plenty of reminders of better times along a once vibrant and colorful motor-tourism route. The town occupies a scenic plat along the Elk River, one worthy of a revival of fortunes.



In its heyday, Truitt's Cave was among a half-dozen run by spelunker mogul John Truitt. This one in particular held the distinction of being featured on Ripley's Believe It or Not for its underground dining hall, among other natural curiosities. Sadly, the majesty of geology was not strong enough for its latest owners to keep the doors open. On-site cabins are long gone, but the site does live on in model railroad form, though. Perhaps someday a well-heeled benefactor will bring the real town back to form.