Still Waters: Stories from The Elms Hotel & Spa Archive

Still Waters: Table of Contents

Step into the history of The Elms Hotel & Spa through letters, diary entries, guest recollections and stories inspired by the hotel’s archives. Each chapter reveals another voice, another moment and another secret carried through generations.

1. The Arrival

A child's letter, folded into family papers. Elsie Everhart is two days into a stay at The Elms in the summer of 1892, writing to her cousin Charlotte with the solemn precision of someone who has been trained to write properly and has not yet learned which details adults would prefer she leave out.

2. The Third Floor

A housekeeper's diary page from the third floor, written by a woman whose name is reduced in the file to one initial: A.

3. The Grand Season

Overview : A guest letter from The Elms at the height of its resort years. The writer has been here nearly two weeks, has taken the waters, and has become a believer.

4. The Waters Cure

Overview: The oldest document in the archive. The hotel does not exist yet. A woman has come to Excelsior Springs in 1882 with a child and a belief in the mineral waters.

5. After the Springs

Elsie's second letter, written from the same trip a few days later. Same cousin, same precision, same instinct for recording what adults consider unremarkable.

After the Springs

August 04, 2026 Letters from Elsie

Historical

Woman and young girl stand before a historic hotel.

Era: 1880-1895

Overview

Elsie's second letter, written from the same trip a few days later. Same cousin, same precision, same instinct for recording what adults consider unremarkable.

A drawing arrives in the afternoon post, sent by a boy called Harry. Elsie gives no surname. She has no reason to.

an open book with handwriting

My dear Charlotte,

I have now been at The Elms for four days and have drunk the iron water seven times and attended three suppers, two breakfasts, and one dinner that was formally announced as a dinner rather than simply a meal, the distinction between which I have not yet fully determined. The waters, I am told, require a minimum of one week to produce any noticeable effect, and so I remain patient, though I will say that Mr. Henderson of Kansas City has drunk them daily for three years and appears to be in no better condition than anyone else at the table.

The bath house is a separate building near the hotel, quite impressive in its way, with great porcelain tubs in which guests recline while the mineral water is administered in various quantities according to the recommendation of the attendant on duty. Aunt Martha takes her treatment in the mornings. She came to supper on Tuesday in better humor than she has been in some weeks, which I note as possibly relevant.

She has been quieter these past two days than when we arrived. Not unhappy, I think — she sat in the garden for nearly an hour yesterday afternoon and appeared quite settled — but not precisely in the same spirits. When I asked if she was well she said she was perfectly well and that some matters simply required time to arrange themselves in one's mind, which did not explain anything but which I understood to be a complete answer.

A drawing arrived for her in the afternoon post today, sent by a boy called Harry — a relation of the Trumans, I believe, as Aunt Martha mentioned the family by name when she placed it in her traveling case. She said only that it was very like him to have sent it. She did not say what the drawing was of and I did not think it was my place to ask, though I will say I observed the corner of it as she put it away and it appeared to be a dog, or possibly a horse, rendered with great enthusiasm if not great precision. He is perhaps eight or nine, from what I can gather.

The other guests continue. The large party from St. Louis has been replaced by a smaller party from St. Louis, which is an improvement in terms of noise. A woman arrived yesterday traveling alone who takes every meal reading a novel held open beside her plate, which Aunt Martha says is a considerable rudeness and which I find I admire. The boy who fell from the front steps last week was here again today, from which I conclude he does not live far.

I will report further when there is more to report. The waters have not yet done anything I can identify, but I remain open to the possibility.

Your affectionate cousin,

Elsie

The Elms Hotel

Excelsior Springs, Missouri

Sunday

Still Waters is a narrative series inspired by the history of The Elms Hotel & Spa in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. Each story blends documented history, local lore, and original storytelling. While many places, people, and events are rooted in the historical record, the letters, journals, conversations, and personal accounts are works of historical fiction created to bring the past to life.

Our goal is not to recreate history exactly as it happened, but to honor the people, places, and moments that shaped The Elms and the community surrounding it through stories that could have been told by those who lived them.

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