Excelsior Springs

History

This location had a major incident during the historic march of Zion's Camp in 1834 when a contingent of about 200 Mormon believers, marching to rescue their brethren in Jackson County, faced an angry mob of more than 300. Near two forks of Fishing River, a terrible fight was about to start when a severe thunderstorm rolled in suddenly and put the mob to flight. Historical markers to the incident are located nearby. The town was founded because of the natural spring water that gushed from the depths of the earth. The spring was accidentally discovered in 1880 by a Black farmer, Travis Mellion, when his daughter Opal fell ill with scrofula, a form of cervical tuberculosis. He asked for advice from nearby campers, and they suggested the spring that oozed from the bank of the Fishing River. Water was brought to his daughter and in a few weeks, her health improved noticeably, and she eventually recovered. A log-cabin farmer, Frederick Kugler, also begin to treat his rheumatic knees and a recurring sore from a Civil War wound, and he soon recovered. Rev. John Van Buren Flack traveled there in 1880 after hearing about the medicinal values of the spring water. The spring belonged to land owner Anthony W. Wyman. After Flack investigated the water sources, he advised Wyman to have the land platted, water analyzed, and to begin advertising the cures the water held. Flack built a home on a tract that Wyman had platted and opened the town's first dry goods store and the first church. The spring was named Excelsior after a popular Longfellow poem, which later changed to Siloam. Within one year, nearly two hundred households were built in the valley and the nearby hillsides. The springs proved successful and brought many new people to the area, who camped out in tents or in…

Geography

Excelsior Springs is located along the East Fork Fishing River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,310
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,934
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,703
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,596
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,531
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,528
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,325
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,224

Most recent

• M 2.53 — 2025-07-15
  3 km W of Hale, Missouri
• M 3.5 — 2024-03-15
  2 km NE of Ferrelview, Missouri
• M 2.6 — 2018-07-20
  1 km WNW of Saint Joseph, Missouri
• M 3.1 — 2007-03-23
  5 km N of Nortonville, Kansas