Name: Alley Spring
Location: Shannon County, Mo.
Rank: 7
Average Flow:
Million gallons per day: 84
Cubic feet per second: 130
Recharge Area:
Dye traced to a poorly drained sinkhole plain to the north,
and west for at least 15 miles.
Interesting Information:
Probably one of the most frequently visited Ozark
springs, due to picturesque setting. Alley holds the record for the largest credible measured flow
of any Ozark spring ( 2750 cfs or 1.776 billion gallons of water, on April 22, 1974.) According
to Josiah Bridge, an early geologist, Alley is known to have stopped flowing for 12 hours
sometime in the 1920's, as a result of a massive collapse known as "The Drop-In" near
Summersville. It resumed flow, albeit in a muddy condition which continued for several days as
the water removed the debris from its conduit.
Brief History:
Delaware Indians removed to the area used the spring, until it
quit flowing temporarily, coincident with the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12. Spring was
settled in 1848 by James Tackett, and officially homesteaded ten years later by James
McCormack. The first mill was built in 1870 at Barksdale Spring, as it was known until John
Alley relocated to the hamlet, bringing the post office name of Alley with him. In 1893, George
McCaskill built the present mill with a steel turbine as power source. Around the turn of the
century, the mill changed hands four times. The fifth time, Conrad Hug, of the Chrystall Springs
Townsite Co. from Kansas City, bought spring, mill, town, and all, intending to establish a resort
and "townsite" for city dwellers. The mill closed in 1918. With the surrounding area badly logged
off, and railroads leaving the area, Hug and company sold 407 acres, including spring and mill to
the new state park system. Alley Spring State Park opened in 1925. It, along with Big and Round
Spring State Parks, were transferred to federal ownership in 1971.
Ownership and Access:
Owned by the National Park Service since 1971.
Developed campground on the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. No charge for entry to view the
spring.