Edward "Ted" and Pat Jones-Confluence Point State Park is a public recreation area located on the north side of the Missouri River at its confluence with the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

St. Charles County St. Charles County is in the central eastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 405,262, making it Missouri's third-most populous county. Its county seat is St. Charles. The county was organized Oct ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. The state park encompasses of shoreline and bottomland and is managed by the

Missouri Department of Natural Resources The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) of the government of the U.S. state of Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied fo ...

, which "plans to restore a natural floodplain reminiscent of what

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

and

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

might have seen along the lower Missouri River." The park is part of the Mississippi Greenway (formerly known as the

Confluence Greenway In 1997, with support from The McKnight Foundation, a group of non-profit organizations led by Trailnet formed a partnership to plan and implement the Confluence Greenway. The Confluence Greenway was planned as a system of parks, conservation and r ...

) and sits opposite the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area on the south bank of the Missouri River. Park trails will eventually connect with the statewide

Katy Trail Katy Trail may refer to the following places in the United States: * Katy Trail (Dallas) The Katy Trail is a jogging, walking, inline skating, and bicycling path that runs through the Uptown and Oak Lawn areas of Dallas, Texas (USA), following ...

History

The

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

began at the confluence in 1804, and the explorers returned there at the end of their journey. Following the purchase of the site through the aid of a grant from the

Danforth Foundation The Danforth Foundation was one of the largest private nonprofit foundations in the St. Louis Metropolitan region. It closed its doors in 2011 after 84 years of operation and more than a billion dollars in grants distributed. Background Establish ...

, the Western Rivers Conservancy conveyed the land to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Metropolitan Parks and Recreation District in 2001. The park opened May 9, 2004. It is named for

Edward Jones Investments Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P., (since 1995, d.b.a. Edward Jones Investments), simplified as Edward Jones, is a financial services firm headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It serves investment clients in the U.S. and Canada, throu ...

heir Edward D. "Ted" Jones and his wife Pat Jones, who donated $2.2 million for development of the Katy Trail.

Activities and amenities

The area offers short trails, interpretive kiosks, and birdwatching.

References

External links

Confluence Point State Park
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Confluence Point State Park Map
Missouri Department of Natural Resources {{authority control State parks of Missouri Protected areas on the Mississippi River Protected areas established in 2001 Protected areas of St. Charles County, Missouri History of Greater St. Louis 2001 establishments in Missouri