The Willow Springs Reservoir

Most long-term residents of Willow Springs know of the "Reservoir," about a mile north of downtown. It is a hidden gem in the crown of our part of the Ozarks nestled between the Highway 60/63 bypass and business route at the north end of Willow Springs. Driving by, you would not know a lake is there, hidden in a natural depression. 

 

In the 1950s and '60s, my family attended annual church picnics there; I have home movies from those years. Some of my earliest memories are of the lake from that period. My grandfather and uncles on my mother's side were members of the "Willow Springs Outing Club," which has used the lake for private recreation for over 125 years. In more recent decades, I've attended several of Wendell Bailey's birthday parties on the lake.

 

When the Kansas City, Fort Scott, and Memphis Railroad came through Willow Springs for the first time on Christmas Day 1882, finding a reliable source of water for its steam engines was a problem. This part of Howell County is pretty dry, and the city of Willow Springs did not have a well sufficient to meet the railroad's needs. In fact, the town of Willow Springs used a well, supplied by the railroad, for several years before drilling a deep one of its own. The railroad solved its water problem by damming the headwaters of the Eleven Point River at the north end of Willow Springs. 

 

A pipeline was then run downhill for a mile from the lake to a wooden water tank next to the Willow Springs depot on Front Street, by the railroad tracks. During the severe cold spell of winter 1962, this long-forgotten line froze, forcing water to run uphill through the pipe and spurt from the lake in a geyser.

 

After the reservoir was created, the railroad allowed the community to rent and lease the lake for recreation. For example, an article in the West Plains Weekly Journal described a picnic at the reservoir in August 1907. Out-of-town guests arrived by train and were taken to the lake by horse-drawn wagons. The article stated: "Teams met the party at the depot at Willow Springs and took them out to the grounds. The drive in the clear morning air was invigorating. The first view of the grounds brought forth exclamations of delight. The reservoir is a large body of water covering about 7 acres and lying in a natural depression. The scenery around is wonderfully beautiful."

 

Willow Springs was already using land at its north end, along the railroad tracks, in the vicinity of the old A&W Drive-In, or today’s Bamboo House, as a community meeting ground. The recreational development of the lake uphill was a natural progression. Community outdoor gatherings were often held around the lake. 

 

The 1907 outing description continues: "The water dimpling and shining in the morning sunlight, with probably an acre covered with water lilies, the great cream-colored flowers lifting their stately heads above the shining green leaves, was a scene not to be soon forgotten. Boats were at once filled with the young people, while their 'elder' friends built a campfire and soon had an appetizing breakfast prepared. The amount of bacon and eggs disposed of would have been a land office business for a railroad eating house on an excursion day. Hammocks were swung up. When a person could resist the delights of boating, swimming, and wading, a pleasant place to rest was ready. Dinner was a cold meal, but the campfire was again rekindled for supper. Such an amount of good things as were spread out would have delighted the palate of the most epicurean."

 

Over the following decades, lake use rose and fell with each leasing group. Still, its main purpose remained: supplying water to the rail system, which had shifted from wood- to coal-powered engines that required large amounts of water.

 

Highlighting this era, former Willow Springs resident Arch T. Hollenbeck provided a historical overview of the Willow Springs Reservoir in his column "Random Remarks by A.T.H.," as the publisher of the West Plains Journal, dated December 15, 1938. The occasion was Frisco's plan to enlarge the reservoir. He wrote, "The news from Springfield that the Frisco Railway plans to enlarge and improve the large reservoir, about a mile northwest of Willow Springs, brings to mind some happy boyhood recollections."

 

"The big lake (planned) covering something like 15 acres, was built when the railroad was just completed in 1883, and was the principal water supply for engines on the railroad, then called the Kansas City, Fort Scott and Gulf. There was, for many years, a small water tank by the side of the railroad about a mile west of the thriving sawmill town of Sargent, and getting its water from a small spring-fed stream."

 

"During 1887 and 1888, it was my duty to ride a freight train every Friday morning up to this tank, which marked the western limit of the tie territory controlled by the South Missouri Land Company, a subsidiary of the Railroad Company, and then walk back along the railroad to inspect and make record of all new ties piled along the right-of-way during the past week."

"I was the 'kid' in the office at Willow Springs, and every Friday, during most of the year, was 'tie day' with me. I stopped at some of the small stations along the road, came back at around noon, or carried my lunch with me. In the summertime, I usually got back to the reservoir, about a quarter of a mile off the railroad, for a short swim, and in the fall and winter it furnished the finest duck shooting imaginable."

 

"A few years later, the Willow Springs Outing Club was organized, and a lease was taken from the railroad company; a commodious boathouse and several boats were built, and the place became a very popular resort. The writer (Hollenbeck) was serving as secretary and one of the directors of the outing club at the time of his moving to West Plains in December 1894."

 

This account from Hollenbeck is corroborated by a brief article in the Willow Springs Index Newspaper (July 1892). It reported: "A company has been formed for the purpose of putting boats on the reservoir, above town, and making it a pleasure resort during the summer months."

 

Hollenbeck continues, "It was a rare morning indeed during the duck season, which didn't find the writer, with a hunting partner up on the reservoir long before daylight. The other hunter was usually Walt Dempster, a fireman on the 'Cosey River' Railroad (Current River Railroad, which ran east from Willow Springs), John C. Brown, Harry Esslinger, Joe Le Compte, or occasionally Alf Besheers and Tom Hogan. There was no bag limit, and since we always walked up and back, it was no easy chore carrying a heavy gun, fifty shells, and from six to ten ducks, mostly mallards, with an occasional canvasback, spoonbill, teal, or butterball."

 

Looking ahead, Hollenbeck noted, "The Outing Club seems to have gone out of existence years ago and for the benefit of the people of 'the Willer,' especially the younger generation, I hope the club or a similar organization will be formed, and the lake restocked with fish, once very plentiful, and the place become once again an asset to the town and an ideal pleasure resort."

Following this sentiment, in 1939, the Frisco Railroad doubled the reservoir's size from 7 to 15 acres by raising the earthen dam by 2.5 feet. This project aimed to ensure the lake retained sufficient water during droughts and to increase its capacity by 12 million gallons.

 

Further fulfilling Hollenbeck's hopes, recreational use continued. An article in the Current Local newspaper in Eminence in September 1947 affirmed that the lake was still in use by the railroad and the community for recreation. "Lake management assistance will be given to the Willow Springs Outing Club by the Missouri Conservation Commission to help the organization improve the condition of a 15-acre reservoir, which it maintains as a fishing area. The lake also supplies water for a nearby railroad yard. Fertilization of the water under the supervision of the Commission is expected to improve the fish food chain and to control the growth of underwater moss and other vegetation; the fish population will tend to come into better balance, with the result being larger fish for the anglers using the lake. Since the lake is open to members of the club only, the Commission cannot provide fingerlings to stock it; however, plantings of fish will be obtained from a federal hatchery."

 

In 1954, the Outing Club filed an agreement in Howell County Circuit Court, formalizing the club as a non-profit corporation and establishing the bylaws it operates under to this day. My grandfather, Ed Gauldin, was a signatory. 

 

The Willow Springs Outing Club remains a private organization. Annual membership is inexpensive. They are currently in their annual renewal/enrollment period, and information can be found on their Facebook page, named “Willow Springs Outing Club/Reservoir."