The estate known as Elfindale was built in 1892 by John O'Day, an Irishman who had been a corporation lawyer with the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad (the Frisco). O'Day's second wife, Alice Vail, was apparently the driving spirit behind the construction.

The structure included forty large rooms with twelve-foot high ceilings. In addition to the elaborate house, Mrs. O'Day also saw to the development of beautiful grounds around the structure including a lake on Fassnight Creek.

Alice O'Day received the house in a divorce settlement in 1901. Unable to maintain the estate, she sold it to the Sisters of Visitation in 1906. The nuns opened a boarding school called the Elfindale Academy which drew students from throughout the Midwest. It operated until 1948 when the boarding function was closed and it was converted to day classes only. The school closed in 1964.

From 1964-1978, Elfindale was a retreat center. In October, 1978, the Elfindale property was sold to a group of Iranian buyers known as the RNT Corporation. On September 1, 1980, the RNT Corporation sold the property to the Elfindale Land and Development Company who planned a community around it. The Cornerstone World Church uses much of the structure today. The main house is now a bed and breakfast.

Approved: 5/24/76