The Bothwell Lodge State Historic Site is located in Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 north of Sedalia

Sedalia, Missouri

Sedalia is a city located about south of the Missouri River in Pettis County, Missouri. U.S. Highway 50 and U.S. Highway 65 intersect in the city. As of 2006, the city had a total population of 20,669. It is the county seat of Pettis County. The Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of...

. The park was established in 1974 for a lodge named after John Homer Bothwell. The park currently offers tours, hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

, and mountain biking

Mountain biking

Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...

 trails.

John Bothwell purchased the property that the lodge presently resides in 1890, which he named Stonyridge Farm. From 1897 to 1928, Bothwell built the lodge in four phases on top of a rock bluff overlooking a valley. The lodge was intended to be a summer home for Bothwell and is an eclectic combination of various styles with Craftsman

American Craftsman

The American Craftsman Style, or the American Arts and Crafts Movement, is an American domestic architectural, interior design, landscape design, applied arts, and decorative arts style and lifestyle philosophy that began in the last years of the 19th century. As a comprehensive design and art...

influences. One of the eccentricities of the home was the failed attempt by Bothwell to use a cave discovered during construction as the source of natural air conditioning. The limestone used in the home's construction was quarried on site.
A widower for most of his life, Bothwell often invited family and friends to stay at the lodge. It was to this group of individuals that he left the lodge to upon his death. The group was named the Bothwell Lodge Club, and the lodge was placed in their control so long as more than five members remained alive. Upon the death of the sixth member (reducing the membership to five), the lodge would then be offered to the state. In 1969, the property was officially offered to the state, which accepted the home five years later.

In addition to the lodge, the Bothwell Lodge State Historic Site possesses a garage/home, a separate home, hiking trails, and a playground.