One road leads to Lupus

LUPUS, Mo. - A drive along Highway P, up and down hills and around curves, eventually reaches the enchanting little village of Lupus.

The village features only a couple of streets and homes jacked up on stilts.

The railroad tracks run parallel with the Missouri River in Lupus. Some days, residents said you will never hear a train go through and other days they travel through about every 20 minutes. (Ra'Vae Edwards/News Tribune photo)

Highway P, just off of Highway 87 in northern Moniteau County, is the only road that leads in to the sleepy Moniteau County town. Other than a couple of gravel roads, it is also the only road that takes you out of town.

Sleepy is only one way to describe a village where the population is 29. On a still day, the only noises to be heard are those of singing birds, lawn mowers, an occasional freight train and, of course, the current of the Missouri River.

Lupus is situated on the bank of the river and with that comes several factors, including flooding. According to long-time resident Jim Denny, the floods that have consumed Lupus have been great, but the town always seems to recover.

Denny and his wife, Susan, first purchased land in the Lupus area in 1986. In 1993, just one month before the Great Flood, they moved into their home. A month later, with more than six-feet of water standing inside their home, they were forced to move quickly.

“We had to refugee for about a year and a half so we could fix the house back up,” Denny said. “We weren't back too long when the Great Flood of ‘95 hit Lupus.”

Flooding for the residents of Lupus has not been a significant problem since 1995, but not because the water hasn't risen.

In 1995, Denny was the mayor of the town and, after suffering two major floods in two years, the residents decided they needed to do something. They loved living in their tiny village and moving was not an option.

So, Denny and the town board of trustees were able to secure assistance through a Community Block Development Grant through the State Emergency Management Association and a private source. The funds paid for nine homes to be elevated several feet, which would avoid complications during flood seasons.

Six other homes in Lupus were elevated around the same time, but were paid for by different means of funding, Denny said.

“Now, the water just runs under the homes in Lupus rather than into them,” Denny said.

Although the peacefulness of the village and the homes are interesting, Lupus has a rather lengthy history dating back to the early 1800s, when the area was first settled by a group from Kentucky.

“The actual village was platted in 1901 when the railroad built here,” Denny said. “But the first settlement in the Splice Creek Valley area was around 1819 when a group of Kentuckians moved here.”

After the Civil War, a man named John B. Wolfe set up a store at the mouth of the Big Splice Creek and it quickly became known as Wolfe Point.

In 1888, Denny said, someone wanted to put a post office in Wolfe's store, but because there was already a town in Montana called Wolfe Point, the residents were told they would have to come up with a different name for their town.

“So, they called it the Lupus Post Office and that name was eventually transferred to the town,” Denny said. “Lupus is actually Latin for Wolf.”

Having the Missouri River in your backyard is one of the things that attracted Denny to the area.

“Having the river right in my backyard is one of the greatest blessings, but it's also one of our greatest curses,” Denny said. “But, if you like to grow things, we have the best soil in the world down here for gardening.”

Due in part to its location, combined with the low number of residents and very low crime rates, Lupus could be one of the greatest places to live in Missouri.

But, don't plan on moving just yet.

“There's not much available in the way of housing down here,” Denny said. “Other than the houses that are already here, Lupus isn't really in a growth mode. About the only way the population around here is going to grow is if families moved in, and there really isn't any housing available for that.”

At least 15 homes in Lupus have been elevated to avoid complications during flooding of the Missouri River. The tiny town has a population of 29. (Ra'Vae Edwards/News Tribune photo)