Lon Sanders Canyon

History

A local legend has it that the canyon here was the hideout of Jesse James and Younger Brothers after they had robbed the nearby Gads Hill train on Jan. 31, 1874. Hiking through this area you can imagine them hiding out among the recesses of the McKenzie Creek Shut-Ins that flow through this conservation area.  

This 130-acre area was acquired by the Missouri Department of Conservation in 1988 through a so acre partial donation from the McGhee family and an 80-acre donation by Nan Gardner Weber, who devoted most of her life to the cause of conservation and reforestation in Missouri. The area is intended as a wildlife study, hiking, and nature area. The loop trail fulfills one of Weber's wishes for the area. People have visited and used the canyon for centuries. Native Americans used it as a meeting place. According to legend, at one time a large boulder in the middle of the creek was a sacred place where different tribes smoked a peace pipe. Joseph Stokely built the first settler's home in the McKenzie Creek Valley in the south end of this canyon about 1803. Later the canyon was the site for the first grist mill in the valley. This mill was powered by a water wheel driven by the rushing flow of the creek. Subsequently, the canyon was owned by Dr. Samuel A Bates, who dreamed of damming the stream to install an electric power generating plant. This plan did not materialize, but the canyon carried the name Bates Canyon for many years.

The current name of the canyon is taken from Colonel Lon Sanders, a St. Louis and Philadelphia businessman. About 1930, Colonel Lon Sanders began developing the canyon and brought it to public attention. He built small dams, lily pools, flower gardens, shelter houses, and footpaths. He also planted non-native ornamental plants, some of which grow here to this day

 Area Hours:  Daily - 4:00 AM - 10:00 PM  Directions:   From Piedmont, take Highway 34 east, then Canyon Road (County Road 341) north 0.50 mile.   For more information call(573) 663-7130