This natural wonder near Excelsior Springs has a name suggesting mischievous things

Inside Look is a Star series that takes our readers behind the scenes of some of the most well-known and not-so-well-known places and events in Kansas City. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at InsideLook@kcstar.com.

Water that drops dramatically is always a crowd-pleaser. These small falls on Williams Creek between Excelsior Springs and Kearney have been known by several names over the years.

One old postcard refers to it as the Fishing River Falls. But for well over a century, another name that suggests activity of a different kind has been attached to it—Tryst Falls.

When rain filled its banks, Williams Creek raced down the five to seven-foot vertical drop. That made Tryst Falls one of the largest natural water features in the area.

Not surprisingly, a mill chose the spot as a good location for grinding flour in the mid-1800s.

Many years later, when Missouri Highway 92 was being widened, plans called for excavating the falls’ rock ledges. A local legislator called on friends in high places and Clay County’s “little Niagara Falls” was spared.

In 1828, the basin below the falls also bore witness to an unthinkable horror. An enslaved woman named Annice was accused of bringing five children to the creek, including two of her own, and drowning them. She was later executed for the crime.

Tryst Falls Park , which now includes a ball field, playgrounds and picnic areas has been part of the Clay County Parks and Recreation system since 1972.

Having trouble seeing the video? Watch it here .

Looking for more Kansas City history?

Without the Hannibal Bridge , the city we know today would have been very different

This famous outlaw became Kearney’s best-known export

How building roads across the metro helped Harry S. Truman build political clout