February is Black History Month and we will be publishing a series of articles in The Standard this month focusing on someone who figures into Excelsior Springs’ Black history. Note: Old newspaper articles from the 1800s and early 1900s frequently referred to African Americans as ‘colored.’ There may be quotations in this article in which the quotation from a newspaper is copied verbatim as originally published. No offense is intended. What’s in a name? In this case, it’s the spelling. For decades, the name “ Travis ‘Mellion’” is the name that has been associated with the black farmer who discovered the first spring in what would later become Excelsior Springs for many years in numerous publications. However, with a great deal of research, family history and historic documents, the spelling of Travis’ surname is actually “Million.” “He figures prominently in many recent histories of Excel...