Not surprisingly, calcium, magnesium and iron are among the most common minerals in our spring water, rendering them "hard" or difficult to lather in the presence of soap, and tending to leave a mineral deposit when boiled. Most of these springs are "sweet" that is, their mineralization does not affect their taste, or use for human purposes.
At the time of early settlement in the 1700's, salt springs in Ste. Genevieve and Jefferson Counties provided an early source of that important mineral. Settlements grew up near these springs, or "salt licks" which were initially found on the basis of Native American reports, and the behavior of animals, such as deer, which frequented these springs. The early settlers would evaporate the salt laden water, yielding the crystalline form for use.
The Saline and Little Saline Creek area in southeast Ste. Genevieve County near St. Mary's and Kaskaskia was one of the earliest of these salt works. As early as 1770, Montesano Springs (later Kimmswick) in Jefferson County was the site of a salt making operation. Saline Creek in northern Jefferson County attests to the early salt makers. Further to the north and west, but no less important, the resources of Boonslick and Saline County in mid-Missouri were valuable as settlers moved west along the Missouri River.
True salt springs in Missouri were never as plentiful as in other parts of the country, and their yield could not support large numbers of people. New methods of brine evaporation and better inland transportation made salt cheaper to buy than to manufacture quite early on. But as the salt works declined in importance before the Civil War, other entrepreneurs set their sights on Missouri's mineral springs.
The crude state of medicine for much of the 19th century opened the door for many forms of "water cure" --drinking, bathing, and in general pampering oneself with mineral waters, either on-site at a spa/hotel, or by having the water shipped to one's house for private use. Eighty three mineral water localities in thirty seven Missouri counties were reported by Paul Schweitzer in 1892, most of which had either a hotel, spa, or bottling facilities.
The popularity of these water cures became a large business after the railroad made travel easier, and enough of the population had achieved enough prosperity to take advantage of these mineral springs, spas, and resorts. Medical doctors, quacks, resort developers and get-rich-quick artists all jumped on the wagon. After all, weren't healing springs mentioned in the Bible? And some of the patrons did get better--usually those lacking in the provided minerals, or those for whom a rest cure of any sort would have been beneficial.
By the turn of the 20th century, the spa business was in full swing. The most well-known of the Ozark sites were Excelsior Springs, found to have medicinal value in 1880, and located just outside Kansas City, and the world reknowned Hot Springs in Arkansas. Unlike most of the Missouri springs, Hot Springs came to be all the rage because of their natural temperature, and the low concentrations of radium found in the water, which are still advertised today.
Other well-known resorts in the state included Sweet Springs in Saline County, the Meramec Highlands and nearby Sulphur Springs in St. Louis County. The 1904 book The State of Missouri, intended as a field guide to the state for World's Fair goers, includes:
These are but a few of the more successful mineral springs resorts--if you go to any small Midwest town with the word "springs" in its name, ask around. You'll probably find an interesting tale or two.