# Maramec Spring > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Maramec_Spring > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Maramec_Spring.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maramec_Spring > Source revision: 1322231558 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) River in Missouri, United States Maramec Spring The spring discharges below an overhanging bluff of Gasconade Dolomite. Location Country United States State Missouri Region Ozark Plateau County Phelps Physical characteristics Source Dry Fork watershed • location Salem Plateau, Ozark Plateau, Missouri • elevation 773.97 ft (235.91 m)USGS Mouth Meramec River • location near St. James, Phelps County, Ozark Plateau, Missouri • coordinates 37°57′20″N 91°31′57″W / 37.95556°N 91.53250°W / 37.95556; -91.53250[3] Length 0.87 mi (1.40 km)[1] Discharge • location Maramec Spring[2] • average 153 cu ft/s (4.3 m3/s)[2] • maximum 770 cu ft/s (22 m3/s) Basin features U.S. NNL Designated: 1971 Maramec Iron Works District U.S. National Register of Historic Places U.S. Historic district The remains of an iron furnace of the Maramec Iron Works which used hydropower from the spring Nearest city St. James, Missouri Area 0 acres (0 ha) Built 1826 (1826) NRHP reference No. 69000122[4] Added to NRHP April 16, 1969 Trout [fishing](/source/Fishing) is popular in the branch from Maramec Spring to the river. **Maramec Spring** is located on the [Meramec River](/source/Meramec_River) near [St. James](/source/Saint_James%2C_Missouri) in the east-central [Ozarks](/source/Ozarks) of [Missouri](/source/Missouri). The fifth largest [spring](/source/Spring_(hydrosphere)) in the state with an average discharge of 153 cubic feet (4.3 m3) of water per second, it is part of a [Karst topographical area](/source/Karst_topography), with many springs and caves. The spring and 1800 acres (7.28 km²) are owned by the [James Foundation](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Foundation&action=edit&redlink=1), which maintains the area as a public park, donated by [Lucy Wortham James](/source/Lucy_Wortham_James). The [Missouri Department of Conservation](/source/Missouri_Department_of_Conservation) operates a [trout](/source/Trout) [hatchery](/source/Fish_hatchery) and fishery at the spring. Ruins of the Maramec Iron Works are still visible at the site; its machinery was partly powered by the spring's waterflow. The spring was declared a [National Natural Landmark](/source/National_Natural_Landmark) in October 1971.[5] ## Description The spring's daily discharge averages nearly 100 million gallons (363 million liters).[3] The history of the spring and the iron works is explained in a museum operated by the James Foundation at the site. Another museum in the park features agricultural tools utilized in the area over the years. The park contains a drive that offers a glimpse into the life in the area while the iron works were operating. It includes a scenic overview of the park, a cemetery which serves as the final resting place of some employees of the iron works, the iron pit mine, and locations of a few homesteads. The park hosts several picnic areas, including pavilions suitable for events. ## Maramec Iron Works Adjacent to the spring are the ruins of the Maramec Iron Works. The first commercially viable iron facility in the [US](/source/United_States_of_America) west of the [Mississippi](/source/Mississippi_River), it produced iron from 1826 to 1876. During the [US Civil War](/source/US_Civil_War), it produced iron for cannonballs and [James B. Eads](/source/James_B._Eads)' gunships, which were built in [St. Louis](/source/St._Louis%2C_Missouri) near the mouth of the river. The iron works used the spring's flow to [power](/source/Hydropower) its machinery, processing high-grade [hematite](/source/Hematite) from a nearby pit.[6][7][8] The [Maramec Iron Works District](/source/Maramec_Iron_Works_District) was listed on the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places) in 1969.[4] The James Foundation hosts an annual Old Iron Works Days on a weekend in October. It features arts, crafts, foods, displays and presentations of life in the area during the era of the iron works. ## Recreational activities The park is one of four trout parks in Missouri, providing near year-round fishing. Harvesting season runs from March until October, while the catch and release season runs during the winter months. The stream is restocked every day during fishing season from the 100,000 trout produced annually by the hatchery.[9] There are 58 campsites in the park, including 30 with electric hook-ups. The park has numerous picnic sites, six reserveable picnic shelters, and multiple playgrounds.[10] ## See also - [List of Missouri rivers](/source/List_of_Missouri_rivers) - [List of Arkansas rivers](/source/List_of_Arkansas_rivers) - [List of Ozark springs](/source/List_of_Ozark_springs) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Missouri Department of Conservation](http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/applications/moatlas/AreaSummaryPage.aspx?txtAreaID=5704) 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-USGS_1923-1985_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-USGS_1923-1985_2-1) [USGS 1923-1985](https://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/annual/?referred_module=sw&site_no=07010500&por_07010500_1=834625,00060,1,1922,1986&year_type=C&format=html_table&date_format=YYYY-MM-DD&rdb_compression=file&submitted_form=parameter_selection_list) 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-USGS_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-USGS_3-1) [USGS](https://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/mo/nwis/annual/?referred_module=sw&site_no=07010500&por_07010500_1=834625,00060,1,1922,1986&year_type=C&format=html_table&date_format=YYYY-MM-DD&rdb_compression=file&submitted_form=parameter_selection_list) 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-nris_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-nris_4-1) ["National Register Information System"](https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP). *[National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places)*. [National Park Service](/source/National_Park_Service). July 9, 2010. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-nnl_5-0)** ["National Natural Landmark summary"](https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nnlandmarks/site.htm?Site=MASP-MO). National Park Service. February 5, 2004. Retrieved April 26, 2009. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Norris, James D., “Frontier Iron: The Story of The Maramec Iron Works: 1826-76," State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1964, James Foundation paperback reprint, 1972. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Ludwig, Stephen (1977). ["Maramec Iron Works"](http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/periodicals/bittersweet/wi77h.htm). *Bittersweet*. **2** (2). Lebanon High School. Retrieved April 26, 2009. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Martha L. Kusiak (March 1969). ["National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Maramec Iron Works District"](http://dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/69000122.pdf) (PDF). Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved February 1, 2017. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Maramec Spring Fish Hatchery and Trout Park"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090113094942/http://www.mdc.mo.gov/areas/hatchery/maramec/index.htm). Missouri Department of Conservation. 2009. Archived from [the original](http://www.mdc.mo.gov/areas/hatchery/maramec/index.htm) on January 13, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2009. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Camping at Maramec Spring Park along the Meramec River"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100301043541/http://www.maramecspringpark.com/maramec/camping/index.html). James Foundation. Archived from [the original](http://www.maramecspringpark.com/maramec/camping/index.html) on March 1, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2009. ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Maramec Spring](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Maramec_Spring). - Official site: [MaramecSpringPark.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20090413211855/http://maramecspringpark.com/maramec/index.html) v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Lists by county Adair Andrew Atchison Audrain Barry Barton Bates Benton Bollinger Boone Buchanan Butler Caldwell Callaway Camden Cape Girardeau Carroll Carter Cass Cedar Chariton Christian Clark Clay Clinton Cole Cooper Crawford Dade Dallas Daviess DeKalb Dent Douglas Dunklin Franklin Gasconade Gentry Greene Grundy Harrison Henry Hickory Holt Howard Howell Iron Jackson: Downtown Kansas City Jackson: Kansas City other Jackson: Other Jasper Jefferson Johnson Knox Laclede Lafayette Lawrence Lewis Lincoln Linn Livingston Macon Madison Maries Marion McDonald Mercer Miller Mississippi Moniteau Monroe Montgomery Morgan New Madrid Newton Nodaway Oregon Osage Ozark Pemiscot Perry Pettis Phelps Pike Platte Polk Pulaski Putnam Ralls Randolph Ray Reynolds Ripley St. Charles St. Clair St. Francois St. Louis (city): Downtown and Downtown West St. Louis (city): Northwest St. Louis (city): Southwest St. Louis County Ste. Genevieve Saline Schuyler Scotland Scott Shannon Shelby Stoddard Stone Sullivan Taney Texas Vernon Warren Washington Wayne Webster Worth Wright Other lists Bridges National Historic Landmarks Keeper of the Register History of the National Register of Historic Places Property types Historic district Contributing property Authority control databases International VIAF National United States Israel --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Maramec Spring](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maramec_Spring) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maramec_Spring?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.