One of Missouri’s Most Haunted Locations!
History
Morgan Vachel Dillingham was born in 1843 in Lafayette, Missouri later moving to Blue Springs before enlisting in the army. After fighting in a number of battles for the Confederates during the Civil War, gravely wounded, he would return to his family home in Blue Springs to find it was no longer occupied by his family. The home had changed hands and was now the home of the mock family. Incidentally, it was one of the Mock girls (Melvina) whom he would fall in love with and later marry.
It was Morgan and Melvina who built the Dillingham House in 1906 after Morgan had become very successful. Before this though, Morgan and Melvina lived in a log cabin that they had built themselves, with a dirt floor and homemade furniture, and they held off having children as it was deemed too expensive.
Morgan worked hard for his success, becoming a bank manager, and opening a successful mercantile store that provided his family with a very comfy way of life for decades. With this ongoing success, he also purchased a large farm in Jackson County.
They went on to have 8 children, with at least 3 of those dying very early on in their lives, some at birth.
The tragic history of the family continued. David Dillingham (the first son of Morgan and Melvina) owned and operated a store and gas station in Blue Springs through the early 1900’s until his death in 1955 (at 82 years old). He was shot to death by two bandits attempting to steal from his store. His wife, Stella, was also badly beaten.
After the elder Dillingham’s passed away, the house was purchased by the infamous local resident, Narra Lewis. Known for being a world traveler who would throw lavish parties, and claimed to have known every American president, from Lincoln to Roosevelt. She was infamous, for the crime she committed robbing a nearby saloon whilst wielding a hatchet. She went on to purchase the house in 1928 and lived there until she died in 1948.
After Narra, the house was sold to Arthur Frank Cummins, who completed the purchase in 1949. He lived there until his mysterious death inside the house in 1966.
Since 1977, the house has been in the hands of the Blue Springs Historical Society who run the house as a headquarters and museum filled with many period pieces dating back to the early twentieth century.
