Warsaw residents express concern about fate of Truman Lake Visitor Center
Kelly Dereuck, Springfield News-Leader
6 min read
For Warsaw resident Peggy Crabtree Berry, the Harry S. Truman Visitor Center allows her to connect with her heritage. Looking out from the center’s panoramic overlook, she can see the land that once belonged to her ancestors.
“My family has been here since 1832, and when the dam came in, they took most of my grandfather's land to build the lake,” Crabtree Berry said. “So we went from a farming community and a ranching community to a tourist community.”
To construct the Truman Dam, many local farms were sacrificed in the flood that created the Truman Reservoir. It has since become a tourist attraction that brings visitors to the community and boosts the local economy.
Budget cuts to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the Truman Dam and three surrounding properties, caused the center’s hours of operation to be slashed to three days a week from April to September, plus select federal holidays. The visitor center does offer educational programs by appointment.
Currently, it costs about $100,000 annually to operate the center. That figure accounts for support staffing, utilities, preventative maintenance and upkeep of the grounds, but excludes major repairs. The visitor center is operated by volunteers during its open hours.
The visitor center closed during the pandemic, and for some time, there were concerns that the building would be permanently closed before it reopened in 2022. The Army Corps has since confirmed it has no intention of fully closing the building and has secured operational funding through 2024.
But, due to the same funding constraints, the Army Corps is considering using some part of the visitor center to house office spaces. The area of the building that would be used has yet to be decided, but Crabtree Berry worries that the overlook is in jeopardy.
“The people around here feel like we gave up so much for the lake,” Crabtree Berry said. “For them to take away the visitor center and put offices in there, to us, it's just wrong.”
Officials from the Army Corps recognize the public’s concerns and are working on plans to balance those with the funding struggles it faces.
“We don't have any plans finalized yet,” said Emily Coffin, chief of the Army Corps’ Natural Resource Section. “We're just in that discussion phase, looking at options for where offices could be located, and we would want to keep as much open to the public as we could.”
Local residents have received numerous complaints from weekday tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of the Truman Dam from the visitor center’s overlook, only to find the gates locked and the building closed.
“I've got an ice cream shop in downtown Warsaw, and people come in, and they complain, ‘How come the visitor center is not open?’” said Crabtree Berry, who owns Back in Time Headquarters.
Others feel that the restricted hours are limiting the economic growth of the community, as tourists can only visit the center on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or some federal holiday Mondays. Losing public access to the overlook would only exacerbate the losses.
“Warsaw, the surrounding cities, and all of Benton County could take a serious hit financially if we lost the overlook or part of the visitor center,” said Lisa Treece, a local resident. “We're already losing a lot having them be closed during the week.”
Warsaw lost another local attraction in 2021, when the Missouri Department of Conservation decided to close the Lost Valley Fish Hatchery Visitor Center. It was another popular tourist attraction and destination for school field trips.
“They see these things closing, and they're definitely concerned because tourism is such a big part of Warsaw,” said U.S. Rep. Mark Alford, who represents Warsaw’s Congressional District.
However, one silver lining could shine through if the Army Corps uses some part of the visitor center for office spaces.
“Having that dual space used by both personnel and the visitor center displays may be an opportunity to have the center open a little bit more often, since the staff would be there year-round,” Coffin said.
Members of the community reached out to Rep. Alford and U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, both of whom are working to preserve the historic overlook.
“Senator Hawley is glad the Army Corps has committed to keeping the visitor center open,” said Abigail Marone, spokesperson for Hawley. “Now the Corps needs to make sure members of the public have full access to the facility. The priority should be public access, not government office space.”
Both Hawley and Alford have been in touch with the Army Corps about keeping the overlook area open for public use.
“It's a battle between the needs and desires of the local community, and the budget realities that we're facing,” Alford said. “I'm just hoping that we can reach some type of agreement when this is all said and done, and that everyone will be a winner in this situation.”
Alford suggested reaching out to the Army Corps as it finalizes it proposal for the visitor center, but the channels to communicate concerns are still being established.
“We want to definitely take the public's input into account, but we don't have anything set up at this point in time on how to collect any comments or or anything of that nature right now,” Coffin said.
Community organizations have also taken up the issue, including Concerned Citizens of Missouri and the Benton County Central Committee. Crabtree Berry serves as chairwoman for both groups. Initiative petitions have been circulating the community, gathering signatures of concerned citizens wanting to preserve the overlook.
Local residents are understanding of the funding issues facing the Army Corps, but hope that some compromise can be made between preserving local landmarks and budget constraints.
“What we're fighting for is to get them to not take the overlook or at least not all of it for their offices,” Treece said. “We're not unwilling to compromise or work together for the best solution.”
For Treece, the overlook holds a special significance from her childhood that is irreplaceable. It was her father’s favorite place to visit every time the family visited Warsaw.
“My dad's now passed away, and so for me, it's extra emotional,” Treece said. “I don't want to lose my ability to go back in there and see what I saw with my daddy. If you only think of dollars and cents, it is pretty silly. But it's so much bigger than money.”
