A historic general store in Missouri’s Ozarks, Scott’s Iconium General Store, was destroyed by a fire early Sunday morning, firefighters said.
The fire broke out shortly before 2 a.m. at the store located at 12770 NE Highway C, about two hours southeast of Kansas City. Multiple fire departments responded to the scene, according to a Facebook post from the Iconium Fire Department.
Although the store’s walls and roof are still standing, the inside was completely burned. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the fire.
Firefighters had to return to the site around 11 a.m. when the fire reignited, but they were able to put it out again.
Investigators from the State Fire Marshal’s Office haven’t determined the exact cause yet, but they suspect it may have been due to an electrical issue or something related to the fireplace.
Shannon and Nikki Tucker, the current owners, have run the store since 2012. They bought it from Ginger and Wayne Scott, whose family had owned the store since 1946.
The store is famous for its Peach Nehi ice cream floats, sometimes serving up to a thousand in a single day. For decades, Boy Scouts from the nearby H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation have made the mile-long hike to the store for these treats. On weekends, the store would draw crowds of Scouts, their families, and friends—sometimes more than a thousand people.
The store was originally built in 1896 and has been expanded several times over the years.