Stanton & Meramec Caverns, Missouri on Route 66

MISSOURI LEGENDS

Stanton & Meramec Caverns - A Favorite

Route 66 Stop

Just about ten miles southwest of St. Clair, Route 66 brings you to Stanton, Missouri, which has a number of attractions and outdoor activities to entertain cross-country travelers. Stanton is a small unincorporated community that became a favorite stop for Route 66 travelers due to its proximity to nearby Meramec Caverns, which has always been prominently advertised on billboards and on the sides of barns, sometimes hundreds of miles away.

In addition to Meramec Caverns, the area also provides canoeing, float trips, and fishing along the Meramec and Bourbeuse Rivers; a number of other caves, wineries, and various other attractions such as the Jesse James Wax Museum.

Antique Toy Museum was open in Stanton, Missouri, for 21 years, but closed in 2009. Kathy Weiser, November, 2007.

Nearby Meramec State Park offers year-round camping, picnicking, hiking trails and water enthusiasts will enjoy swimming, fishing, rafting and canoeing in the Meramec River.

Meramec Caverns - Hideout of Jesse James

Meramec Caverns is a set of natural limestone caves that features beautifully sculpted patterns of stalactites and stalagmites. Formed more than 400 million years ago, the caverns have a long and rich history. First used by Indian Tribes as a shelter, they were first discovered by "white men” when a French Miner stumbled upon them in 1720. Discovering saltpeter in the cave, which is used to make gunpowder, Renault named the cave Saltpeter Mine and mined the resource until 1742. Later, Spanish miners utilized the cavern as a base of operations for lead mining.

During the Civil War, saltpeter mining was revived in the cavern and Union troops used it as a munitions powder mill from 1862 to 1864. However, when William Quantrill and his irregular band of Confederates discovered it, they destroyed the plant. One member of Quantrill’s band, namely Jesse James, would remember the location of the cave and use it later during his outlaw years. It was also during this time that the cave was said to have harbored runaway slaves on the "Underground Railroad.”

In 1874, Jesse James, along with the James-Younger gang robbed the Little Rock Express on its way from St. Louis, Missouri to Little Rock, Arkansas at a small town called Gads Hill. Pursued by a posse, the gang escaped 75 miles northeast to the cave. The sheriff and his men soon tracked the James-Youngers, deciding to starve them out of the cave. However, after three days, the gang did not emerge. The lawmen entered the cave only to find the gang’s horses. It has been long believed that the outlaws escaped by swimming from a shallow underground river to the Meramec River outside the cave.

By the 1890's the cave was owned by a man named Charley Rueppele who was interested in prospecting it. However, Rueppele allowed some of Missouri’s elite to use the cave for ballroom dances. During the hot Missouri summer months in the days before air conditioning, the cave provided a wonderful respite. Today, the same area of the cave can still be rented for special events.

In the 1930s, a local cave enthusiast by the name of Lester Dill leased the cave from Rueppele with an option to buy it. Along with partner, Ed Schuler, they built the access road and entrance to the cave, renamed it "Meramec Caverns” and opened it to the public in 1935.

Dill uncovered miles of new passages and spectacular views and began to heavily market the cave to the many travelers of Route 66. Marketing efforts included the use of "bumper signs” before the advent of "bumper stickers,” as well as painting the sides and roofs of barns all along Route 66. Soon, the cave became known as one of the most famous stops along the Mother Road.

Today, Meramec Caverns include tours through seven underground levels, a restaurant, and a museum that features the life and times of the caverns. Outside the caverns, a campground and motel are available along the banks of the Meramec River. For outdoor enthusiasts canoes and rafts can be rented for float trips, a tour boat is available for a scenic trip along the river, and visitors can pan for gold at the Meramec Mining Company. Open year-round, Meramec Caverns can be reached by I-44 Exit 230 in Stanton.

On your way to Meramec Caverns, you will pass by the Riverside Reptile Ranch, where you can see the largest collection of snakes in the state of Missouri, from pythons, to boas, cobras, rattlesnakes and more. Not limited to snakes, you can also get a scary look at alligators, scorpions, and tarantulas inside the complex. The outdoor view provides foxes, turtles, goats, emus and a Leo the Lion. As of this writing the Reptile Ranch is open Memorial Day through Labor Day 10:30a.m. to 6:30p.m.

Back in Stanton, on the south frontage road at Exit 230, is the Jesse James Wax Museum, a Route 66 icon, for almost 40 years, you will hear the story of how Jesse James wasn't really shot to death in 1882. Instead, this place will convince you that he died of old age in Granbury, Texas in 1952. Check ahead of time for hours of operation, as they vary throughout the year.

The Riverside Reptile Ranch on the way to Meramec Caverns, Kathy Weiser, November, 2007.

Other "signs" of a once more prosperous Route 66 are an aging Delta Motel (Now the Park Inn 66) at 2420 S. Service Road and the Stanton Motel, (Closed and For Sale as of May 2011) at 2497 N. Service Road East.

Continue your journey of Route 66 on Springfield Road through the small hamlet of Oak Grove Village before reaching Sullivan.

Book your lodging in nearby Sullivan, Missouri HERE!

The old Delta Motel at 2420 S. Service Road in Stanton, Kathy Weiser, November, 2007.

The Stanton Motel at 2497 N. Service Road E. still caters to Route 66 travelers today, Kathy Weiser, November, 2007.

To Sullivan

Return to Route 66

To Gray Summit

From the Rocky Mountain General Store

Route 66 Books - Legends of America and the Rocky Mountain General Store has collected a number of Route 66 Books for our Mother Road enthusiasts. As great as Route 66 is, if you aren't armed with a few good tools on your journey, you'll miss great attractions, eateries, places to stay, and wind up on the wrong path. To see this varied collection that includes "how-to" books, travel guides, photograph books, attractions, and more, click HERE!