Spencer Ghost Town
Spencer is a small unincorporated crossroads in eastern Lawrence County, Missouri, United States. It lies along former U.S. Route 66 (now a county road) approximately six miles west of Halltown. A post office called Spencer was established in 1868, and remained in operation until 1907. The community was named after a local merchant whose store was known as “Spencer”. Prior to that the place was known as Johnson’s Mill.
Route 66 is many things to many people. Each person tends to experience the road differently There is a certain spirit / feeling, that resides along Route 66. The spirit Of Route 66 lives on in people. their stories, the structures that they have seen, and their appreciation Spencer. Missouri is a very important part of the historical Route 66. Route 66 bypassed Spencer in 1961.
The story behind Spencer was one man’s dream. Sidney Casey heard that the first major east to west highway (U S Route 66) would be constructed through the center of the United States. He had the vision to know that some day when the road came through, it would be an excellent location to operate the many business’s that he eventually had, such as, service station garage, cafe, grocery store, barber shop. post Office and feed store (all but the cafe and barber shop were operated by the Casey family). He wanted this dream so bad that he walked 100 miles on foot to buy the property in July 1925. He contacted the owner of this property, Frank Johnson, and paid him S400.00 for the entire asking price, for the store building and two acres of land. And eventually after many years his dream had been fulfilled.
This land was also important because across the road there was a labor camp. They had several hundred men that were used to construct the highway. They used the water from Johnson Creek and mixed their concrete by hand in sleds and used teams of horses to pull the sleds to the roadway and hand troweled the concrete. As of today, the highway in front of Spencer is the only one of four stretches of Route 66 that has the original concrete road and has never been overlaid or widened.
In its heyday, Spencer was an important stop along Route 66. There were tourist cabins up the hill at Camp Lookout, that you could rent nightly and a wooden dance floor that was a popular attraction to the many travelers passing through on Route 66.
Francis and Mary Lynn Ryan purchased Spencer in 2007. They have done a lot of research to help them in their goal to restore the Buildings back to how they were.
Over the years, many structures along Missouri ‘s Route 66 have deteriorated and it’s sad to see history disappear. The Ryans purchased Spencer with intention of keeping it from deteriorating any further. There is too much at stake. It is not just a service station or feed store or café, it is a town. Restoring it has been a huge undertaking, but has received great recognition in Missouri. So much could be done with this
particular strip of Route 66, but their interests at this time is to preserve the structures of the town of Spencer. Their plans are not to make any of the stores functional, but to restore them to look like they did back in the 30 ‘s and 40 ‘s.
Lots of work and money has gone into the restoration but the Ryan ‘s have enjoyed every part of it. In the short time they have owned Spencer, the Ryan Is have been overwhelmed with the tourists that stop and just want to know about the history of Spencer and what their future plans are.
Where it is:
Spencer is located on historic Route 66 six miles west of Halltown Mo. From Route 66 turn south onto Co Rd 2062 (the original Route 66) and drive one mile to the gas station, on the left.
Maps:
Interactive Google Map
Use the map + – controls to zoom in and out, click and drag the to move the map, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views. Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view.
GPS:
37°11’4.283″ N 93°42’10.181″ W
Cost:
There is no cost to visit Spencer, this is private property, please show respect.
Hours:
There are no hours, if the owners are present they may have the buildings open and will tell you the history of the town.
Location Contact Information:
Spencer Ghost Town Photo Gallery
Click Here for full page gallery
More Photographic Destinations in Missouri:
Interactive Google Map
Use the map + – controls to zoom in and out, use the Map drop-down to change to “Map”, “Satellite”, “Hybrid”, or “Terrain” views. Drag the little man icon from the upper left corner to a map location for street level view. Click on a pushpin for more information about the Photographic Destination, then click on the title to go to the location page.
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Great Places for Great Photos
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Greg Disch is a freelance photographer located in Arkansas. Greg specializes in nature, scenic, wildlife, and other outdoor subjects in Arkansas and other areas of the country. Most of the images on this site are available for sale as prints, personal use, or rights managed stock photos.
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