The Leaky Roof Railroad's real name was the Kansas City, Clinton and Springfield Railroad (KCC&S). It ran northwest out of Springfield to Ash Grove and then North to Osceola, Clinton, Garden City and on into Kansas before it reached Kansas City. Originally built to haul coal, marble, and clay tile out of Henry County Missouri to the major commercial hubs of Springfield and Kansas City, over the years it would become a lifeline connecting the region, hauling agricultural products (particularly strawberries, flour, passengers and even the circus). For us the Leaky Roof represents a golden age of Southwest Missouri and an extinct way of life that gave this area the color and history it has today. Many of our labels and images are inspired by this history and our goals as a company in this region hope to revive a little of that industry and agriculture.
For our part our connection to the Leaky Roof Railroad begins with our early days of planning. While looking for suitable locations for the meadery we examined several commercial properties for rent. Most of these places were along the railroad tracks running into Springfield from the Northwest. While looking for a name we began to read about the history of the railroad in Springfield and in the area in general. Finally we stumbled on the nickname for an old railroad running out of Springfield and up through Ash Grove. This was the Leaky Roof. What is more, it had a vibrant history linked to the area. At the time the properties we were looking at also looked like they probably had leaky roofs. Many did. While we fell in love with the name and the idea of working with a railroad theme, our dream property became available in Buffalo, a town, which not only wasn't on the Leaky Roof line, but had never had a railroad at all. Instead of changing the name we decided that this was perfect. Ultimately our company hopes to work with the local community in order to source more and more of our raw materials such as honey, berries and apples from local sources. Much like the Leaky Roof we want to be an outlet for local agriculture to once again thrive in the area. In the days of the Frisco and the Leaky Roof Southwest Missouri small agriculture thrived. The area was once famous for its strawberries, blackberries, apples and grapes, all of which are essential to our products. In pre-prohibition days these crops were brought to the railway depots, loaded into cars full of ice and hauled to the large cities. It is this type of community interlinking we would like to promote as we grow with the community. As such we decided our train image was perfect as we truly wish to bring the railroad to Buffalo, MO and indeed the Missouri Southwest.
For our part our connection to the Leaky Roof Railroad begins with our early days of planning. While looking for suitable locations for the meadery we examined several commercial properties for rent. Most of these places were along the railroad tracks running into Springfield from the Northwest. While looking for a name we began to read about the history of the railroad in Springfield and in the area in general. Finally we stumbled on the nickname for an old railroad running out of Springfield and up through Ash Grove. This was the Leaky Roof. What is more, it had a vibrant history linked to the area. At the time the properties we were looking at also looked like they probably had leaky roofs. Many did. While we fell in love with the name and the idea of working with a railroad theme, our dream property became available in Buffalo, a town, which not only wasn't on the Leaky Roof line, but had never had a railroad at all. Instead of changing the name we decided that this was perfect. Ultimately our company hopes to work with the local community in order to source more and more of our raw materials such as honey, berries and apples from local sources. Much like the Leaky Roof we want to be an outlet for local agriculture to once again thrive in the area. In the days of the Frisco and the Leaky Roof Southwest Missouri small agriculture thrived. The area was once famous for its strawberries, blackberries, apples and grapes, all of which are essential to our products. In pre-prohibition days these crops were brought to the railway depots, loaded into cars full of ice and hauled to the large cities. It is this type of community interlinking we would like to promote as we grow with the community. As such we decided our train image was perfect as we truly wish to bring the railroad to Buffalo, MO and indeed the Missouri Southwest.
There are no reviews for this item.
Leaky Roof Meadery
