Ikogosi Warm Springs

John S. McGee, from his mission base in the nearby Ekiti town of Igede, went to the source of the hot and cold springs, about which he had heard from the Ikogosi people.

Initially, he was discouraged from doing this, for reasons of the tradition he had heard from the local residents, which was that nobody should ever visit the source of these two streams, because of the idea that to do so would be to invite death from the supernatural forces that were responsible for this strange, and most unusual, feature of nature.

Wilfred Congdon (located at the Baptist Mission in Oshogbo) drew the design and plans for the original (16) buildings, which were built in this order: the swimming pool, fed by the warm springs (built in 1962); a combination dining hall, large kitchen and storage areas; eight (8) small cabins, each of which could house sixteen persons, with sleeping, bath and toilet facilities; a Baptist Mission residence, which was occupied by the McGees from the middle 1960s until October, 1973, when the McGees received word from Ibadan, that the Nigerian government was taking control of the camp; and finally, a chapel, was completed in the late 1960s.

News from the Lagos area alleged that the facility being developed at the warm springs was the work of the (U.S.) Central Intelligence Agency, for political purposes.

One newspaper, in particular, expressed the negative and critical views of one well-known writer, Dr. Tai Solarin, based on the misinformation that was being circulated.

Finally, some prominent alumni ("old boys") of the Baptist College at Iwo (now Bowen University) brought Dr. Solarin to the Ikogosi camp to be introduced and to meet with Rev.

From that time forward, the activity at the camp significantly declined, with the McGees continuing to manage the facilities (other than the pool) from their Baptist Mission residence at Igede, until their retirement from Nigeria.

McGee was given the "Prestigious Beaded Walking Stick" by King Aladesanmi II of Ado-Ekiti, on behalf of the Ekiti Baptist Association.

Within a matter of fewer than ten years, when the McGees very briefly visited Igede and Ikogosi (1985), the camp had been covered with bush.