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.

Tag - Historical

The Waters Cure

July 17, 2026 The Lodger near the Springs
Woman comforting a child in a bedroom.
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.   ...
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The Grand Season

July 14, 2026 Curated by The Elms Guest
Guests relax on a landscaped lawn beneath mature trees in the early 1900s.
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.   ...
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The Third Floor

July 10, 2026 The Elms Housekeeper Diaries
Bed in hotel guestroom
Overview  A housekeeper's diary page from the third floor, written by a woman whose name is reduced in the file to one initial: A.   She is writing about work. In the middle ...
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The Arrival

July 07, 2026 Letters from Elsie
Vintage sepia photograph of a well-dressed Victorian woman and young girl standing on a dirt street
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