The ruins of Ha Ha Tonka’s stately “castle” link lore and legacy with today’s Ozarks. Even though the iconic mansion burned in 1942, its skeleton remains a tourist attraction, drawing visitors – alongside a number of natural wonders – to what’s known today as Ha Ha Tonka State Park.
Before Camden County existed, the natural oasis drew Native Americans, who are credited with bestowing the Ha Ha Tonka moniker. History has defined the term as “laughing waters,” even though it’s been said that’s not a literal translation.
In the early 1800s, white settlers moved into the area and built a mill. Later, the acreage was renown across the state for its beauty and healthful properties.
Photo courtesy of Missouri State Parks
“Ha Ha Tonka, with her numerous and extensive caves, with her rich dowry of poetic beauty and all the essential elements of natural wealth must, in justice, then be recognized as heir apparent to the crown of the Ozarks,” noted one article in 1898 describing the site’s natural draws.
Those chapters led to the construction of the stately mansion that was once known to many but today has faded even from memories – and, nearly four decades after it burned to the ground, the site’s integration into the state park system.
“The ruins of the Snyder mansion are very important to the park,” says Jacob Bryant, park naturalist at Ha Ha Tonka State Park. “They provoke thought, they serve as a monument to local history, and most importantly – they tell a story. A story of fortune lost in flame, one man’s dream turned to ashes.”
Ha Ha Tonka in modern history
Ha Ha Tonka’s castle was built high on a hill and was used by the Snyder family in the 1920s and ‘30s. (Courtesy of Missouri State Parks)
The idea of healing waters or health resorts was not a foreign one to locals in the late 1800s. At that time, there were numerous communities across the region popping up with purported health benefits; two examples are Eureka Springs, which was founded in 1879, and El Dorado Springs in 1881.
Camden County was no different. In 1895, an article proclaimed the benefits of the water at Ha Ha Tonka Spring, an area with “the most delightful scenery human eye ever beheld” as a Springfield paper put it.
“A quantity of the water was recently sent to London for analysis and the result is that it is shown to be the most highly charged and purest medical water known,” another newspaper article noted in May 1895. “In addition to the fact that the water is good, the spring is located in one of the most picturesque and healthy spots in the world. Some of the most beautiful scenery on the continent is within a few miles of the spring and it is destined to soon become one of the great health and pleasure resorts of the country.”
When reading news notes from that time, one wonders if Ha Ha Tonka’s owners had great PR agents. There are many flowery accounts written by people who may or may not have ever visited the site, given how difficult travel was in that era.
“The topography and physical features of the country in the vicinity of the spring are characterized by scenery as grand and imposing as can be found anywhere,” noted another article. “There are found no lofty mountains, no altitudinous peaks, whose snow capped summits repose in a climate of eternal frosts, but instead there are beautiful forests, open woodlands, impulsive mountain streams, terraced hills, cavernous canyons, caves, grottos and parks, a natural bridge, island, lake and subterranean river, high frowning salurian walls, rugged, corrugated and sinuous, upon whose grizzled countenances are chiseled an age so remote that we gaze in wonder and awe of them; beautiful valleys and cozy covers where forest birds sing and wild flowers bloom in endless profusion.”
Yet there were challenges – namely, how to reach the rugged and remote area. A post office, rural school and mill had existed there for families, but travel wasn’t easy.
“Ha Ha Tonka is in the wildest part of Camden County, thirty miles from a railroad,” noted the Kansas City Star in 1907. “It is reached only by a rocky, tortuous road that winds out from Lebanon, and is a good day’s drive from the town. The roughest of the Ozark hills and the deepest of the canyons are in this vicinity.”
But that didn’t keep plans from being made. By 1901, a Springfield newspaper article noted hopes for a “fine 300-room hotel” in connection with the then-high hopes for the Frisco to build a line connecting Ha Ha Tonka and St. Louis.
“There is not a single health or pleasure resort within easy access of St. Louis in any direction,” noted the Leader-Democrat in June 1901, “and considering the natural wonders and beauties of Ha Ha Tonka and its adaptability for a splendid resort, it seems likely that there may be a foundation for the rumored plans of the Frisco.”
The Construction of Ha Ha Tonka’s Castle
Photo courtesy of Missouri State Parks
Plans took a new direction in 1905, when Robert M. Snyder of Kansas City purchased Ha Ha Tonka’s 2,700 acres.
“While staying at a hotel in Lebanon owned by Major Kellogg, Robert McClure Snyder Sr. was told about fabulous Ha Ha Tonka by Colonel R. G. Scott,” notes an article by Lens & Pen Press. “The Kansas City capitalist was an active sportsman. His great-grandson, Bob Snyder, reported he had considered buying Roaring River.”
Snyder had plenty of money: “R.M Snyder’s triumphs had come in the natural gas, oil, real estate, and banking businesses, and he was the organizer of what became the Kansas City Life Insurance Company,” the Lens & Press article noted. And he decided to use some of it to build a castle that was reminiscent of structures found in Europe.
Work on the mansion quickly commenced.
“On the highest and most commanding cliff overlooking the spring and the lake and immediately above the rapids known as trout glen, and the large mound like cave island just beyond, a beautiful mansion is now in course of construction, to be occupied as a country home by Mr. and Mrs. Snyder,” noted the Jefferson City Tribune in May 1906. “The First National Bank at Linn Creek pays out from $1,200 to $1,500 each month for labor on Mr. Snyder’s account, there being from one hundred to one hundred and fifty men employed about the buildings and park, who are living in tents and cabins nearby.”
That amount would be more than $5,000 a month in 2024’s dollars. Yet the purchase was a disappointment to some.
“Certain statesmen of Missouri have dreamed of making a national park of Ha Ha Tonka,” noted the Joplin Globe in 1906. “The dream didn’t come true. The beauty of the spot will be limited to the exclusive friends of Mr. Snyder, who, we assume, represents the highest element of our citizenship. At least they think they are the representative and the elect.”
Tragically, Snyder didn’t see it, either. He was killed in one of Missouri’s first car crashes in October 1906.
Photo courtesy of Missouri State Parks
Eventually, the home – although not quite as elaborate as Snyder originally intended – was completed by his family in 1922.
This was in parallel with ongoing efforts and discussion from others to buy the property – including legislators, who were interested in the estate as a park. (But, one news item said, reaching the site was still problematic: “As soon as this highway is completed a move will be started to purchase Ha Ha Tonka as a state or national park, it was announced,” noted the Springfield Republican in 1918.)
That didn’t happen. But there were tourists already coming to the site – especially as those roads were added – who stayed in the “resort” area in cabins or pitched tents on the land.
“With the completion of improved state highways,” the Daily Leader printed in 1923, Ha Ha Tonka “is rapidly increasing in popularity.
“Every day from four to a dozen heavily laden automobiles, carrying tourists from almost every state in the nation, pass through Lebanon on their way to the park.”
Then there came the 1930s, when it was thought that the castle and the park would be put under water with the creation of Bagnell Dam and Lake of the Ozarks. (Spoiler alert: Even though the lake was added – and it did cover acreage tied to Ha Ha Tonka, which resulted in litigation by the Snyder family – it didn’t condemn the castle to the deep.)
The castle wasn’t utilized by the Snyders for all that long. By sometime in the mid-1930s, it doesn’t appear they were regularly in residence.
An article in 1937 shares that the castle, “which was built at an estimated cost of one million dollars and included the huge water tower and garage that was planned to accommodate 30 cars and 30 horses,” was vacant and deteriorating.
“The following years marked the destruction that always comes to deserted places,” noted an article in the Fairbury Blade newspaper in June 1942. “Windows were knocked out and doors sagged at their hinges. Snow swirled through the great banquet halls in winter and in summer birds built their nests where titled heads were meant to sleep in peace. The place went to the bowwows.”
This changed in the late 1930s, when it was leased to Josephine Ellis of Kansas City. After suffering a breakdown, her doctor ordered absolute quiet – so she opened a hotel.
“Having a knowledge of the castle, she obtained a lifetime lease,” continued the Blade article. “Then with a fortitude that Daniel Boone would have admired, she journeyed to the place and began the work of rehabilitation. For the past two years it has been open to the public as one of the show places of the middle west.”
For the first time since its construction, the home was routinely accessible to the public. It was a place of ladies’ bridge parties; meetings for college board members, osteopaths and attorneys; and senior prom.
That reality went up in flames just a few months later. The famed castle and its carriage house burned in October 1942.
“One of the Ozarks’ most famous landmarks is gone – Ha Ha Tonka Castle was completely destroyed by fire this afternoon, and the remains of the Castle and stable are still burning as this paper goes to press,” printed the Lebanon Daily News on Oct. 21, 1942. Thankfully, the paper noted, no one was injured.
“With the help of a stiff west wind, flames were quickly carried down the slope to the stable about 200 yards distant – where the fire took hold with fury and at mid-afternoon all but two of its stone walls had collapsed. The Castle walls were still standing.”
The next month, words of thanks were printed in the Lake Sun Leader newspaper on behalf of Josephine Ellis and the Snyder family over the loss.
“We want all our friends and neighbors to know how deeply grateful we are for the heroic aid rendered during the fire that destroyed Ha Ha Tonka ‘Castle.’ We appreciate also the many expressions of sympathy and regret for our loss – given in person and by letter.
“The heartening thing out of the tragedy has been this evidence of loyalty and realization that so many others have felt a joint sense of loss in having this beautiful landmark effaced.”
Ha Ha Tonka emerges from blaze
Photo courtesy of Ozarks Alive
The destruction of Ha Ha Tonka’s castle didn’t end the area’s allure. (Nor was fire done with the park – in 1976, arsonists also set fire to the historical water tower.)
Even though the castle was in essence destroyed, its skeletal walls continued to draw visitors. The natural beauty also was a continuing draw as it had been for decades.
However, less than a decade after it destroyed the famed castle, the Snyders decided to step out of the picture.
“The Snyder family relinquished their ownership of the estate in the 1950s and a small resort was built, the first attempt to commercialize the still huge (approximately 2,400 acres) piece of property,” notes “Lake of the Ozarks,” a book about the area’s history. “Subsequent owners indicated expansive plans for development but for one reason or another none ever materialized.”
By the time the 1970s rolled around, descendants of Robert Snyder were concerned that the land would be subdivided.
But some 75 or so years since newspaper accounts first hinted at its future as a state park, Ha Ha Tonka State Park officially opened in 1979.
“The Department of Natural Resources got the job done with a donation from property owners and a federal grant of $891,000,” noted the Springfield Leader and Press in June 1979.
Today, visitors still flock to the park – more than 500,000 arrived in 2023, says the park’s website.
“The park is a geologic wonderland featuring sinkholes, caves, a huge natural bridge, sheer bluffs and Missouri’s 12th-largest spring,” notes information on Ha Ha Tonka’s website. “The ruins of a turn-of-the-century stone castle overlook these wonders and offer impressive views of the Lake of the Ozarks and Ha Ha Tonka Spring.”
Of those elements, the park’s biggest draws are the castle ruins, its natural bridge and Ha Ha Tonka Spring, says Jacob Bryant, the park naturalist.
“All first-time visitors should attempt to see these features,” he says. “My favorite part of the park is the 2,995 acre Ha Ha Tonka Oak Woodland Natural Area. This area, which is about three-fourths of the park, has been managed to maintain the pre-settlement characteristics of that landscape.
“Those natural spaces look just like they would have when the first explorers passed through the area. The oaks tower over you, spaced like an orchard. It is easy to find yourself waist deep in grasses and wildflowers. The glades in that area offer scenic expanses of color when the coneflowers are in full bloom during the summer months. In the winter, the trees – while void of foliage – offer incredible birding opportunities.”
Ha Ha Tonka’s iconic castle was completed in the 1920s and burned in 1942. Today, its ruins are still accessible to the public, as are nearby natural wonders, as part of Ha Ha Tonka State Park. Photo courtesy of Missouri State Parks.
The heart of the park are those castle ruins.
“It wouldn’t be the same if the castle ruins were removed to bare ground or even rebuilt,” notes Bryant. “The immersion, the scar on the landscape, the entire story – would all feel disconnected from visitors.
“The tragedy of the fire and the financial stress the creation of the Lake of the Ozarks placed on the Snyders and the citizens of Ha Ha Tonka, all culminate into that single ruined structure. It plays a vital role in bringing many of these local stories together. Something that pictures, a dedication plaque, or mock structure of the once great Castle just wouldn’t be able to accomplish.”
Want to visit?
Click here to learn more about Ha Ha Tonka State Park.
Resources
“A Kansas City Capitalist Discovers The Ozarks,” Lens & Pen Press, Jan. 6, 2022
“As in the days of Boone,” Kansas City Star, Dec. 8, 1907
“Auto car kills R.M. Snyder in Kansas City,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Oct. 28, 1906
“Beautiful Ha Ha Tonka,” Jefferson City Tribune, May 20, 1906
“Constructing highway to Ha Ha Tonka park,” Springfield Republican, June 16, 1918
“Fire destroys Haha Tonka castle today, two walls of stable standing; no one injured,” Lebanon Daily News, Oct. 21, 1942
“Ha Ha Tonka,” Springfield Leader-Democrat, Sept. 11, 1899
“Ha Ha Tonka Castle,” Fairbury Blade, June 12, 1942
“Ha-Ha-Tonka Castle,” Sunday News and Leader, July 25, 1937
“Ha Ha Tonka event to be Sunday,” Springfield Leader and Press, June 7, 1979
“Hahatonka draws many,” Springfield Daily Leader, July 27, 1923
“Lake of the Ozarks,” 1981
“Missouri notes,” Kansas City Star, Nov. 2, 1895
“Missouri’s wonderful natural park,” Kansas City Times, April 17, 1898
“Mr. Snyder’s laugh,” Joplin Globe, May 5, 1906
“New line in Missouri, New York Times, July 19, 1896
“On New Lines,” Springfield Leader, May 25, 1895
“R.M. Snyder buys Ha Ha Tonka,” Kansas City Star, April 11, 1905
“To Ha Ha Tonka by rail,” Springfield Leader-Democrat, June 21, 1901
“To the Camden Springs,” Springfield Leader, May 10, 1895
“Southwest News and Gossip,” Springfield Leader-Democrat, April 21, 1898
More Resources
