Missouri’s Largest Landowner You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

There are two things that interest me when it comes to land in Missouri. I'm always curious who owns the most of it and also why. Those are not always easy questions to answer. But, in the case of one man who was the largest private landowner in the state, the why question is easily answered. It's the who that will probably confuse you as he's someone many have never heard of.

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This interesting Missouri land issue was recently shared by A-Z Animals. I knew that Bill Gates and Ted Turner both owned a lot of Missouri property, but it wasn't either of them that the article said owned 153,000 acres of Missouri forest.

The man you've probably never heard of in this case is the late Leo Drey who's L-A-D Foundation owns that big part of the Pioneer Forest in Missouri.

Mr. Drey did it to save the trees. The massive donation made by the family foundation in 2004 was "the largest private gift of its kind in Missouri history" according to the L-A-D Foundation website. The Missouri Department of Conservation inducted Leo Drey into the Missouri Parks and Recreation Hall of Fame in 2017.

The state of Missouri has been fortunate to have many citizens that have made a big impact in the state's history, but few have done more than Leo Drey and his wife Kay did and continue to do. If you hike the trails in the Pioneer Forest and appreciate all the beautiful trees, you can thank Leo and his family.