One day, Mrs. Yantis rode on the land of her brother-in-law, Dr. Ostrander and came upon a secluded spring.  Delighted, she slid off her pony and cupped her hands beneath the crystal water that gushed from a pebble lined basin.  Reclining there beneath lofty trees, she gazed in contentment at the spring as it poured down a south facing slope into the stream of the Blackwater River.  Within days Mrs. Yantis’ health revived.  Her cough disappeared, her appetite returned, and her spirits soared. 

In view of his wife’s unexpected recovery, Dr. Yantis, 1848 purchased 80 acres of land surrounding the spring for $10 an acre.  Dr. Yantis developed the first boarding school in Saline County on the land.  This school was in operation until 1851, when Dr. Yantis moved to Oregon.