City of Valley Park Missouri
The City of Valley Park Missouri is located in West St Louis County, about 30 minutes from Downtown St Louis via Interstate 44. Important roads for the community are Highway 141, Vance Road, Marshall Road, Forest Road, Dougherty Ferry Road, Meramec Station Road, Hanna and others. Valley Park History
The City was officially incorporated in 1917 but had its beginning
as a place for city dwellers from St Louis to come and play and relax at the summer resorts and clubhouses that were located there along the Meramec River. In the late 1880's the Missouri Pacific and San Francisco Railroads came through the area and the place was called "Meramec Station." The Frisco Hotel was built in 1880 to house the railroad workers who worked on laying the line and today still stands and houses the Whittle Shortline Railroad Shop. By 1900, there were still only 150 permanent residents in the town that the US Post Office called "Nasby." Besides the post office, the small community also had a distillery, the Valley Park Milling Company, a corn and flour mill; and a general store. What prompted a huge population "explosion" for the community was the establishment of the St. Louis Plate Glass Company in 1907 which employed 500 workers. Other business came to the area soon afterwards such as the Wilson Stove Company, a lumber yard, a bottling works, a sand and gravel company and a cigar factory, each needing workers causing the population to increase to 3,500 by 1907. At one time, there were 88 daily trains that stopped in the town because of all the manufacturing happening there. Unfortunately, a record flood of the Meramec River occurred in August 1915 and all those businesses were damaged or totally washed away. They never rebuilt and the population was back down to 500 permanent residents. Incorporation of the city came in 1917 and the name, "Valley Park," was taken from the mill that was located there. Valley Park continued to be a resort area and in the 1920's, 24 daily trains came from St. Louis bringing people to the resorts located along the Meramec River. Persistent flooding kept most industry and development away from the "old town" of Valley Park and eventually even the resorts and clubhouse succumbed to the flooding. In 2006, the Meramec Valley River Basin Levee was completed to protect the city. Valley Park Historic Landmarks
Two historic St. Louis County Landmarks are found within Valley Park. One of them is the Valley Park elevator, built in 1887, but established in 1874 by Gerhard H. Timmerman, owner of the Valley Park Milling Company. The elevator was sold several times over the years until the Grellner family purchased the elevator in 1976 and have run the elevator and hardware store ever since. Another St. Louis County Landmark is Sacred Heart Catholic Church, built in 1907, though the parish was established in Valley Park in 1903. Valley Park Parks and Recreation
Valley Park maintains several city parks for recreation opportunities for its residents. Those parks are William J Brignole Park, Frisco Park, Leonard Park, Meramec Levee Recreation Park, Wedge Park, Meramec Landing Park and Vance Trails Park. Amenities of the parks include athletic fields for baseball, soccer and football, an original railroad caboose, benches, trails, playgrounds, basketball courts, picnic pavilion, archery range, boat ramp to the Meramec River, River Trail access and more. Other recreation opportunities include the Arnolds Grove Trailhead Park which is on top of the Meramec Valley River Basin Levee. The trailhead gives access to the 3 mile asphalt paved River Trail that leads eastward to Meramec Landing Park and then on to Simpson County Park. Once in Simpson Park, walkers, joggers or cyclists can then pick up the trail that leads to Greentree Park in Kirkwood. Simpson Park, which is a St. Louis County Park, is also in Valley Park and features 206 acres of parkland including a 72-acre fishing lake as well as picnic facilities and pavilion, a playground, a soccer field and a volleyball court.
