According to PEAK Magazine, “Basswood provides perhaps the most beautiful wooded lakefront setting in the Kansas City area.”

The property was named after the Basswood trees that grow there; and the access street, Interurban Road, is so named for the Interurban Railway that ran in its place from 1913 to 1933, linking Kansas City with St. Joseph to the north.

The spring-fed Lakes at Basswood were dug by horse lines in the early 1930s and the facilities functioned as a private fish hatchery from 1935 to 1945. Each lake was then stocked with a different type of fish.

In 1979, former owners, Don and Betty Soper (thinking that Basswood would be their retirement home), purchased the property, then run-down and overgrown. The Sopers, who had previously owned two motels and an RV park, decided that retirement was still a long way off.

Betty Soper, a history buff was excited about the idea transforming the property into a charming bed and breakfast inn, integrating the seclusion enjoyed by celebrities in days gone by with the Missouri friendliness that is appreciated by visitors today. On the other hand, Don Soper, quickly whittled out a large section of the estate for his own vision, that of a modern RV resort. They spent the next eight years restoring the lakes and 73 acres to the enchanting vacation spot it is today.

The result, according to PEAK, “is a sampler of the best of Missouri country life: authentic, truly comfortable, unpretentious, but with every modern convenience.”

Bing Crosby, highlighted at right, was a frequent visitor to Basswood. Also pictured is Charley “O” Finley (back row) with his wife to his left. Finley was the owner of the Kansas City A's (later the Oakland A's).