This amazing historic log building was completed in 1930 for Union Electric. The 6,500 square foot structure was cut from Western white pine logs and assembled in Oregon then disassembled, and transported by train to Missouri. It was finally reassembled at the present site using only square wooden pegs and overlapping corner saddle notching to hold it together. Stone for the patios and fireplace were hauled from local area quarries. Three months later the building was completely reassembled at a total cost of $135,000.
The Lodge had a two story living area and dining room with an oil burning furnace, a 1930 state-of-the-art air cooling machine, a kitchen, servant quarters, a bar with an ice making machine, and an annunciator with call buttons in each room to request service. The five guest rooms had private baths and were named after the towns that were relocated or flooded by the rising waters: Linn Creek, Zebra, Passover, Arnolds Mills, and Nonsuch.
In 1945 Union Electric sold The Lodge as well as forty thousand acres of lakefront property, and eight hundred miles of shoreline for $320,000 to Cyrus Crane Willmore. The Lodge served as his primary residence until his death only four years later from heart disease. The Lodge remained unoccupied from 1949 until 1969. In 1969 the property was sold to Harold Koplar and then again in 1988 to North Port Company. In 1996 Union Electric was able to purchase the Lodge and thirty acres of undeveloped shoreland for 1.6 million. Union Electric then offered The Chamber of Commerce the use of the building on a long term lease for $10.00 a year.
Willmore Lodge is now home to Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and Bagnell Dam History Museum. The beautiful renovated Lodge can be rented for weddings and parties and can easily accommodate a large party. Explore the link below for more information.
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