The Phunn Newsletter

The Museum’s newsletter takes its name from “The Phunn,” one of the first newspapers published in Excelsior Springs. This early day newspaper and others are available to research digitally on one of the museum’s touchscreen monitors.
The Museum’s newsletter, The Phunn, is delivered free to members as one of the many membership benefits. If you were not a member of the Museum in 2024, these are some of the stories you missed:
2024 Features
January: Early day Excelsior Springs had five livery stables right in the downtown, but by 1917, they all had disappeared from the local landscape. One of them, however, adapted to modern times, and a vibrant local business can trace its roots to that livery stable. Visit the Museum to learn more or check out the video “Hinges of History” on this website.
April: Did you know that Excelsior Springs had a “resting apartment” for automobiles and an automobile laundry? The article “Vehicular Vernacular” and “The Advent of ‘Monster Garages’ told those stories in the April edition.
July: The long-buried stories of local civic, social and business leaders were unearthed (sorry—not sorry for the puns) in “Excelsior Springs Leaders At Rest in Threatened Mausoleum” with pictures and obituaries. And they have many descendants still here today! Are you one of them?
October: “Silent Witness to Local History” told the story of the Elms-Regent-Garland Avenue bridge over Fishing River near The Elms and how it changed travel patterns from parts south of the downtown, as well as the development of the residential additions surrounding it.
Coming in 2025
Museum members will learn more about our local history in upcoming editions of The Phunn as we tell the stories behind these new displays opening in 2025:
“Company Town”: While the term “company town” usually invokes a coal mine or sugar operation, Excelsior Springs was just as much a “company town,” but based entirely on a mineral water foundation. This display will go beyond the well-known founders, Anthony Wyman and the Rev. J.V.B. Flack, to explore the contributions of the key investors behind the Excelsior Springs Company, The Elms Hotel, the Railroads and other key contributors to the town’s growth and development.
“Welcome to the Excelsior Springs Museum & Archives” will tell the story of our Museum buildings, from the construction of the former Clay County State Bank and the architect, artist, and bank leadership with the foresight to create this landmark building in 1906.
We’ll also celebrate “Willow Springs Mercantile’s 20th Anniversary” and explore the advent of Roadside Tourism from tourist camps and cabins to today’s AirBnBs.
The Excelsior Springs Genealogy’s next “Founding Family” display will feature the stories of the two different Shelton families that found their way to Excelsior Springs. Did they even know they shared a common ancestor? We don’t know, but the Shelton story includes early pioneers, business and political leaders who contributed to the growth of our community.
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