Welch Cave Site: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Ozark National Scenic Riverways

Regions 3, 4, & 5 Park Cultural Landscapes Program

Inventory Unit Description: The Welch Cave Site is a component of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, located within Shannon County, Missouri. The one-acre site is on the east side of the Current River, approximately one and three-quarters of a mile north of Akers Ferry. It is most easily accessed by NPS 152, a gravel road that runs from Highway K to the Welch Cave Lodge. A half-mile foot trail that begins near the lodge leads north along the river to the Welch Cave Site. Prominent features of the cultural landscape include the spring, the cave, and the stone building over the cave entrance. Additional defining features include the dam remnants, the spillway, stone steps and retaining wall, and surrounding archeological remnants of the resort complex. Dr. Christian H. Diehl, a physician from Illinois, first purchased the Welch Cave property in 1913. Prior to Dr. Diehl’s ownership, Thomas Welch had operated a grist mill and general store at the site. Dr. Diehl lived and practiced medicine in Illinois, but vacationed annually at his Welch Cave property. In 1935, he either began or accelerated development of the property for commercial purposes. He excavated an entrance into Welch Cave, over which he then built a two story stone structure to capture the cool, moist air that flowed out. He built a second dam across Welch Spring, supplementing an earlier dam that dated back to the grist mill. He constructed tourist cabins, picnic grounds, and hiking trails. Local families were employed for construction projects and grounds maintenance and during its peak operating years Welch Cave was a popular social destination. Although the prevailing evidence suggests Dr. Diehl never formally instituted a medical practice at the site, he vocally endorsed the therapeutic qualities of the cave air, believing it held the potential to ease a number of ailments. Social activity and human occupation at Welch Cave came to an abrupt end in 1940 with Dr. Diehl’s death from cerebral thrombosis. Structures were boarded and fell into disrepair. A company known as Welch Cave Ranch, Incorporated purchased the property in 1953, and retained ownership until it was incorporated into Ozark National Scenic Riverways in 1967. By the early 1970s, the stone structure over the cave was the only building that remained intact, although the park service removed the wooden roof and floors. Although now a ruin, the Welch Cave Site is highly stable and retains enough integrity to allow visitors to visualize how it would have appeared in its prime. The stone building over the cave entrance is commonly known as the “Welch Cave Hospital.” There is no evidence, as of yet, to suggest that it was known by that name during the historic period of significance, or that it ever functioned in that capacity. Based on available information, the function of the building is most accurately approximated to a spa. Much of what has come to be accepted as historical fact about the site over the past thirty or forty years has rested on accepting the veracity of oral tradition and local legend. It would appear that because Christian Diehl was a practicing medical doctor who espoused the therapeutic qualities of the Welch Cave air, the stories of a hospital or clinic that housed ailing patients seeking treatments from a “charlatan” doctor emerged. In the interest of clarity, but at the risk of furthering a misconception, this report will refer to Dr. Diehl’s building by its now common nomenclature – the Welch Cave Hospital. The Welch Cave Site is locally significant under National Register Criteria A and C. It is a good example of the rise of modern recreation in the Ozarks, and embodies the distinctive characteristics of the Ozark giraffe style of architecture. The period of significance is 1935 through 1940, encompassing the development and operation of the facilities at Welch Cave.

Welch Cave Site: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Ozark National Scenic Riverways

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