Al Capone's Secret Missouri Hideaway

Al Capone remains one of the most notorious crime figures in American history. His place in the crime annals of Chicago history is confirmed and Capone is famous - or infamous - for his many deeds. His spirit is said to haunt both Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as well as Alcatraz, both prisons where Mr. Capone "did hard time". During his lifetime, he had several hideaway spots where he went to escape the long arm of the law but his hideouts were always discovered by the police. He may, however, have had a hideaway that remained a secret.

On the shores of Lake Taneycomo, in a small lake front community called Rockaway Beach, Missouri, there has long been a legend that Al Capone once summered at the site. At first, the idea may seem impossible but it may just be true.

Although today Rockaway Beach is a quiet, almost sleepy tiny town on the shores of the lake, frequented primarily by fishermen and others who seek the peaceful surroundings of the Ozarks. Located just minutes away from the bright lights and major amusements of vacation mecca Branson, Missouri, however, Rockaway Beach still draws a few tourists who like to play in Branson but stay where it's quiet.

A few of those tourists are drawn by a local legend that Al Capone spent his summers here, away from Chicago and far from the law officers who sought him.

Across the waters of Lake Taneycomo are the ruins of what was once a summer home, one of the simple two-story wooden cottages once common to the area. This one, however, is special because it has long been rumored to have been the summer hideaway for Al Capone.

Now accessible only by boat, the ruins of this summer house may hold the key to the truth behind the legend but since it is located on private property, any secrets here may soon be lost to the elements and the passage of time.

Back in Capone's heyday, Rockaway Beach was a party town. During the Roaring Twenties, Rockaway roared with the best of the flapper girls, bootleggers, and other flamboyant figures who trekked to the backwoods to have fun. They came from Kansas City, St. Louis, Tulsa, and even Chicago to party and drink in a region where making moonshine whiskey had long been an art. Ozark folks didn't see any harm in making whiskey despite the Prohibition laws that prohibited the manufacture, sale, or drinking of alcohol.

At the former dance pavilion - now a flea market that is seldom open - party goers got off a boat that brought them up from Branson where they arrived by train from the big cities. The jazz played, the young, beautiful, and famous danced the night away. Two hotels - still referred to as The White Hotel and the Brown Hotel - catered to these out of town guests. Bathtub gin as well as moonshine liquor flowed like the waters of the Lake and romance was in the air.

Rockaway Beach in the 1920's was the kind of place that Al Capone would have enjoyed and it is very likely that he was drawn here. Once here, the story is that he liked the area so much and could live an almost normal life without fear of the law that he rented a summer home which he may have later bought. During periods of time when even his biographers admit Capone was out of pocket in parts unknown, Capone is rumored to have been in Rockaway Beach, swimming in the lake, dancing at the Pavilion, and sharing a romance with an unnamed local lady.

No hard evidence has been found to support the claims that Capone was there but no proof that he wasn't exist either so the legend lives on, adding to the romance of Rockaway Beach and maybe someday the truth will be found.

Until then, curious tourists and Capone fans still veer off the beaten path to visit Rockaway Beach and peer at the ruins of what may have once been Al Capone's summer home.