Meramec State Park is a public recreation area located near

Sullivan, Missouri Sullivan is a city that straddles the border of Franklin and Crawford counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 6,906 at the 2020 census. History On January 28, 1839, 120 acres were conveyed by the U.S. Government to Garretso ...

, about 60 miles from

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, along the

Meramec River The Meramec River (), sometimes spelled Maramec River (the original US mapping spelled it Maramec but later changed it to Meramec), is one of the longest free-flowing waterways in the U.S. state of Missouri, draining Blanc, Caldwell, and Hawk. ...

. The park has diverse ecosystems such as hardwood forests and glades. There are over 40

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

s located throughout the park, the bedrock is dolomite. The most famous is Fisher Cave, located near the campgrounds. The park borders the Meramec Conservation Area.

History

The park was acquired by the state in 1927, then saw active development by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

(CCC) between 1933 and 1935. At that time, trails were laid out and numerous buildings constructed including a dining hall, recreation hall, concession building, and shelters. In the late 1970s, as part of the Meramec Basin Project, the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

began work on a dam in the park to impound the river. The resulting reservoir would have permanently flooded much of the park and imperiled many different species, including the endangered

Indiana bat The Indiana bat (''Myotis sodalis'') is a medium-sized mouse-eared bat native to North America. It lives primarily in Southern and Midwestern U.S. states and is listed as an endangered species. The Indiana bat is grey, black, or chestnut in colo ...

. However, in response to direct citizen action against the dam, the project was halted, marking a victory for the environmental movement.

Historic sites

Three surviving CCC-era structures were added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1985: * Meramec State Park Lookout House/Observation Tower: The rustic-style stone and trussed timber octagonal lookout tower was built about 1934. * Meramec State Park Pump House: The rustic-style stone pump house (well house) on the Lodge Trail has a medium-pitched front-gable roof with small

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

. It was built in 1934. * Meramec State Park Shelter House: The rustic-style shelter house on the Lodge Trail measures 12 feet by 16 feet and has a hipped roof supported by heavy wooden posts and brackets. It was built in 1935. In 1991, the Meramec State Park Beach Area Historic District was also added to the list. The

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

encompasses four contributing buildings, three contributing structures, and one contributing object. They include the picnic shelter, stone restrooms, water fountain, pump house, and stone steps. The bottom southeast corner of the park includes the old Hamilton Ironworks, after which the Ozarks fiddle tune " Hamilton Ironworks" is named. The Hamilton Iron Works Trail has interpretive signage about the history the blast furnace that once operated "around the clock, seven days a week."

Activities and amenities

In addition to cave tours, the park offers hiking trails, fishing, swimming and boating on the Meramec River, and a campground. The visitor center houses an exhibit hall with a video presentation and information about the history and ecology of the area.

References

External links

Meramec State Park
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Meramec State Park Map
Missouri Department of Natural Resources {{authority control State parks of Missouri Civilian Conservation Corps in Missouri Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Protected areas of Franklin County, Missouri Protected areas of Crawford County, Missouri Protected areas of Washington County, Missouri Protected areas established in 1927 1927 establishments in Missouri Caves of Missouri Show caves in the United States Landforms of Franklin County, Missouri Landforms of Crawford County, Missouri Landforms of Washington County, Missouri Observation towers on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Franklin County, Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Crawford County, Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Missouri Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Tourist attractions in St. Louis