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LAKE OZARK, MO. -- With more than 6,500 square feet, Willmore Lodge is the crowning jewel in our Lake Area history. Designed by noted St. Louis architect, Louis La Beaume, the Adirondack style structure was built as an administration complex for Union Electric during construction of Bagnell Dam.

“It originally cost $135,000 to build,” Lake Area Chamber member, Karen Kopis said. “And that was in depression dollars.”

It’s hard to believe that this magnificent retreat was once assembled like a set of Lincoln Logs. Constructed of western white pine, the entire structure was originally shipped by rail from the Northwest before finding a home atop Missouri stone.

 “It was actually framed in the state of Oregon,” Kopis explained. “After the plans had been approved by the company it was disassembled, numbered and put on train to bring it here, where it stands today.”

Completed in 1930, the two story living area, 29 rooms that include an elegant dining room, opulent guest suites and state-of-the-art appliances, hinted at the lavish entertainment to come.

“I call it the Ritz-Carlton of the Lake,” Kopis said. “Each one of the five guest suites had indoor plumbing at a time when very few homes had it at all.”

Dignitaries from across the world enjoyed luxurious vacations at the waterside retreat.

“One of the more famous people was Charles Lindbergh,” Kopis said. “He would fly into St Louis and bring executives from the power company here.”

All this extravagance came at a high price.

Prior to completion of Bagnell Dam, the view from the lodge included wooded valleys and grassy fields along the narrow Osage River. Those images drowned beneath the flood waters of what would become the Lake of the Ozarks.

The names of each of the five guest suites, bears witness to the bittersweet beginnings of Bagnell Dam.

Linn Creek, Zebra, Passover, Arnolds Mills, and Nonsuch were all lost or relocated to make way for the Great Osage River Project.

“Each one of those rooms was named after a town that was lost to the lake,” Kopis said. “They’ve been lost to our history.”

Under a cloud of scandal, Union Electric sold the lodge to St. Louis real estate developer, Cyrus Wilmore in 1945. Sadly, Wilmore died only four years later, though his name still lives in the knotted pine walls of his rustic mansion.

Today, Willmore Lodge is home to the Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. The plush guest suites have been replaced by the Bagnell Dam History Museum where exhibits and artifacts tell the story of the monumental engineering project that gave birth to The Lake of the Ozarks.

“It truly is a community building,” Kopis said. “We have conferences, seminars and lots of weddings. One family even reserves the lodge for Thanksgiving dinner each year.”

The breathtaking view now looks out over the serpentine dragon-like lake, where a continual flow of brides create new memories in the quaint waterside gazebo.

“It’s the best view at the Lake,” Kopis said. “And the best part is that it is absolutely free.”

Standing tall for more than 80 years, Willmore Lodge now stands as a tribute to our Bagnell history but also to the hard work and craftsman ship of a bygone day.

More information about Willmore Lodge can be found online at www.willmorelodge.com.