O’Dell Family Cabin

The original owners of the log cabin, located inside the present Excelsior Springs Clubhouse, were Edwin and Letice O’Dell. The O’Dell cabin is considered to be the oldest existing cabin in Ray County, Missouri and was located on Old State Road, the first route across Missouri, the stopping place for western travelers.

On November 1, 1820, the O’Dells took out a patent on a 160-acre farm and in 1825 built the cabin. Almost all of the logs used in the cabin are walnut, hewn with broad axe and adz. The corners are dovetailed and are beautiful specimens of this early handcraft. Pole rafters support the roof. The whole structure consisted of one main room with a dirt floor, a loft where the children slept, and a passageway leading to a lean-to, log kitchen. The main room is 17×19 with walls approximately 11-ft. tall. The loft window, still there, looks south over the land which is now the greens of the golf course. A fireplace was later added to the cabin’s main room and the dirt floor was replaced with wood. The fireplace is stone with an oak mantle built across three projecting stones, an arched fireplace opening, concrete block interior firewall, and a red brick hearth.

In 1969, a new clubhouse with an English-style architecture was built around the cabin. The loft and lean-to kitchen had not withstood the test of time, but the cabin itself was jacked up and placed on a concrete foundation. Completely enclosed by the clubhouse, it was open to the public, but only the interior was available for viewing.

In 2019, the clubhouse was torn down and a new clubhouse was designed around the cabin. Now truly preserved, the cabin craftsmanship can be viewed inside and out. The cabin is listed on the Clay County Register of Historic Places.