Monark Springs, Missouri
Encyclopedia
Monark Springs is a ghost town
in Newton County, Missouri
, United States
. It is located twelve miles (19.3 km) east of Neosho
and is now the site of a state conservation area.
occurred in Monark Springs during a Church of God meeting that doubled as a campout that had 400 members from three other states, such as Kansas, attending. The cases continued to spread outside of the town after the meeting, with 16 reported cases cropping up in various parts of Missouri. CDC
officials were sent to the camp site to investigate the water in the area, in order to determine the exact source of the outbreak. It was eventually discovered that a carrier of typhoid fever had unknowingly contaminated the water in the well that had been used as drinking water for the entire camp site.
A fire began in three separate spots on Halloween
1997 at Red's Tire Service in Monark Springs. The site had housed from 600,000 to a million tires and about half ended up being burned in the blaze. The owner of the site was investigated for arson
because of the incident and later sued by the state, having to eventually sign an agreement with the state that reduced the number of tires he was allowed to keep at one time. The site had previously been important, as it was the "only waste-tire dump in southwest Missouri with a state permit". The fires continued to smolder even seven months afterward, with Richard Allen, a "spokesman for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources", quoted saying, "It's the shredded tires that are still smoldering, and they probably will be for a long, long time."
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
in Newton County, 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...
. It is located twelve miles (19.3 km) east of Neosho
Neosho, Missouri
Neosho is the most populous city in and the county seat of Newton County, Missouri, United States. Neosho is an integral part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area....
and is now the site of a state conservation area.
History
In August 1956, an outbreak of typhoid feverTyphoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
occurred in Monark Springs during a Church of God meeting that doubled as a campout that had 400 members from three other states, such as Kansas, attending. The cases continued to spread outside of the town after the meeting, with 16 reported cases cropping up in various parts of Missouri. CDC
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services headquartered in Druid Hills, unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, in Greater Atlanta...
officials were sent to the camp site to investigate the water in the area, in order to determine the exact source of the outbreak. It was eventually discovered that a carrier of typhoid fever had unknowingly contaminated the water in the well that had been used as drinking water for the entire camp site.
A fire began in three separate spots on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
1997 at Red's Tire Service in Monark Springs. The site had housed from 600,000 to a million tires and about half ended up being burned in the blaze. The owner of the site was investigated for arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
because of the incident and later sued by the state, having to eventually sign an agreement with the state that reduced the number of tires he was allowed to keep at one time. The site had previously been important, as it was the "only waste-tire dump in southwest Missouri with a state permit". The fires continued to smolder even seven months afterward, with Richard Allen, a "spokesman for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources", quoted saying, "It's the shredded tires that are still smoldering, and they probably will be for a long, long time."