Lock Springs, Missouri – Lake Street Looking North, circa 1900
Lock Springs, Missouri, located in southeast Daviess County, is a tiny town filled with abandoned business buildings and sidewalks that lead nowhere.
Before European settlement, this area was used by Osage Indians who traveled along a trail that led to present-day Utica, Missouri, then crossed the Grand River and continued on toward Iowa. In the immediate vicinity of what would become Lock Springs, three springs were bubbling from the hillsides, and the Indians not only utilized these springs as a watering place but also camped and buried their dead here.
In 1839, John D. Lock received a government land grant of 320 acres. As more people came through the area, many travelers sought out the springs for their water, and it became known as Mr. Lock’s Springs.
In 1843, Lock was granted a patent for the land by President John Tyler, and he soon surveyed and platted a townsite. However, little appears to have been done to develop the town at that time.
Railroad depot at Lock Springs, Missouri.
When John Lock died in 1869, his property was divided and sold to Joseph Offield and Nathaniel Houston. That year, Nathaniel and Rachael Houston were paid $1 by the Chillicothe and Omaha Railroad Company for use of a right-of-way on their property.
In 1870, a small village several miles to the northeast, comprising three houses and a small store called “Old Greasy,” was located on a treacherous hill road. That year, the four buildings were moved to Houston’s land near the springs. A post office was established in 1871, and the following year Houston platted 14 blocks to form an official town. The McFarlins built the first home.
By 1880, the village was home to about 50 people, and one historian mentioned it as “not of very great proportions, but like all rising towns, they believe immensely in their future.” At that time, Lock Springs boasted the St. Louis & Omaha Railroad station and depot building, a druggist, a grocery store, a general merchandise store, and a blacksmith. A decade later, the town would be home to 212 people.
Moore Hotel in Lock Springs, Missouri.
In 1897, a two-room schoolhouse was built to serve grades 1 through 8. At some point, the Moore Hotel was built, which was also known as the Railroad Hotel because it was near the depot. In 1898, it was purchased by Henry Eugene “Doc” Moore.
By 1900, the town was home to 246 people, and it soon boasted two hotels, a blacksmith shop, a lumber yard, a drug store, a dry goods store that had the only public telephone, a grocery, a stove bolt factory, an ax handle, barrel, and stave factory, and a newspaper. North of town, there was a cheese factory, run by Henry and Martha Baker.
In 1914, Homer Moore and his wife, Maybelle, took over the operation of the Moore Hotel from his father. It continued operations until 1932.
Lock Springs, Missouri, Main Street buildings by Kathy Alexander.
Lock Springs reached its peak population of 288 in 1920 and gradually declined thereafter.
In 1938, the first school was torn down, and a new school was built. In 1955, the area schools were consolidated, and Lock Springs students began to attend school in Jamesport, about nine miles to the north. Today, the old school serves as a private residence.
This Kadzu-covered building in Lock Springs, Missouri, appears to be gone today, according to Kathy Alexander.
This semi-ghost town appears to have no open businesses except the grain elevator and is home to about 55 area residents.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, last updated November 2025.
Also See:
Sources:
Davies County Historical Society
History of Daviess County, Missouri; Birdsall & Dean, 1882
Lock Springs Facebook
The former school building in Lock Springs, Missouri, appears to be utilized as a residence today by Kathy Alexander.