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 () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, along the

Meramec River The Meramec River (), sometimes spelled Maramec River, is one of the longest free-flowing waterways in the U.S. state of Missouri, draining Blanc, Caldwell, and Hawk. "Location" while wandering Blanc, Caldwell, and Hawk. "Executive Summary" fr ...

. The park has diverse ecosystems such as

hardwood forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These for ...

s and

glade Glade may refer to: Computing *Glade Interface Designer, a GUI designer for GTK+ and GNOME Geography *Glade (geography), open area in woodland, synonym for "clearing" **Glade skiing, skiing amongst trees ;Places in the United States *Glade, Kansa ...

s. There are over 40

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s located throughout the park, the bedrock is

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

. 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 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 a major part of ...

(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 , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

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 United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

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, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

. 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 older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

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 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 1934 establishments in Missouri Tourist attractions in St. Louis

History

Historic sites

Activities and amenities

See also

References

External links