Spring River Inn Sign

Route 66, Riverton, KS
Phone:

East < GO > West

Just after you cross the Spring River the stone pillars and one of the neon signs for the long gone Spring River Inn were still standing in 2012 when these photos were taken. The Inn itself closed in 1996 and burned down in 1998.

The Inn was built in 1902 as the private home of B. F. Steward. In 1905 it was sold to the Country Club of Joplin and it became the Spring River Inn and Country Club. That apparently lasted until the Great Depression of the 1930s and in 1932 the property became the private summer home of the country club president, one J.W.Grantham. After that it reportedly stood empty for some years. .In 1952 it was converted to a large restaurant and operated until 1996.

While the pillars remained in place in 2017 the one remaining neon sign was removed for restoration in 2013. An interesting note is that during the property's years as a country club it apparently included an early version of a fairly shallow swimming pool.

Photo(s): 2012