About six miles north of Sedalia on US-65, Bothwell Lodge sits on a limestone bluff above the surrounding farmland — a four-storey stone house begun in 1897 and finished, in fits and starts, by 1928. John Homer Bothwell was a Sedalia lawyer, state legislator and amateur engineer, and the lodge reflects all three: castle-like turrets, hidden staircases, a billiards room with a stone fireplace, and the famous cave underneath that he plumbed into the building as natural air conditioning.
Bothwell left the estate to the state of Missouri on his death in 1929 with instructions that it be used as a park. It is now run as a State Historic Site with guided tours of the house, walking trails across the 180-acre grounds, and access to the cave entrance. Tours run Wednesday to Sunday; the trails are open year-round.