The Hidden World in St. Louis County Parks

Lone Elk Park

During the early part of 1941 the U.S. Government acquired several large tracts of land that comprise what is now West Tyson Park, Tyson Research Center, and Lone Elk Park, for use in the testing of ammunition manufactured at the St. Louis Ammunition Plant (Chevrolet Shell) on Goodfellow in St. Louis. The ammunition was tested, stored, and shipped by rail from various locations in Tyson Valley. The structures at Lone Elk Park were primarily used in the testing of .30 caliber and .50 caliber ammunition. The tower was a machine gun mount for .50 caliber machine guns which were fired into the steel lined bullet traps built into the hillsides. The small record buildings were used to record the results of the test firings and the ballistic building was used for testing of ammunition. When the various lots of ammunition were passed through testing they were stored and shipped by rail to ports on the east and west coasts from large concrete warehouses located in what is now Tyson Research Center.

Jefferson Barracks Park

Jefferson Barracks has been a major military installation for many, many years and was a basic training location during World War Two. Though most of the buildings from that era are long gone, there are a few locations worth noting. The train depot at the south end of the park near the railroad tracks is where many thousands of young men and women arrived for their first taste of military life. The train depot is long gone but the train tracks remain and the location is still there.

The U.S. Ordnance Department also occupied a good portion of Jefferson Barracks and the commanding officer lived in the Grant House, which is gone but which was located near the scenic overlook.

During World War Two there was a top secret project based at Jefferson Barracks. The project was so sensitive that the personnel working on it were not allowed to leave the compound where they were working for fear that word might leak out about their activities. So they were kept in a secure area and all amenities were provided for them to make life tolerable. One of these amenities was their own swimming pool which can still be seen in the park, although it is mostly hidden from view. Your GPS will guide you directly to the location but be prepared to hike into some dense overgrowth.

In Sylvan Springs Park, which was once part of Jefferson Barracks, there was a large outdoor amphitheatre where USO shows were produced to entertain the troops. The stage and dressing room area are still there and as you look out from the stage it is easy to imagine the thousands of young men and women who once sat in the audience

Creve Coeur Park

Creve Coeur Park at the turn of the twentieth century was the site of a large and popular amusement park known as “Electric Park”. It was the “Six Flags” of its day and Creve Coeur Lake was a very popular recreation retreat for thousands of St. Louis residents. A dedicated streetcar line ran from the Delmar Loop to a turnaround substation to transport visitors to the park in the days before the advent of the automobile. The streetcar line remained in use until the early 1950’s and the substation building is still there. “Moonlight” cars on the line were very popular with the young men and women during that time. A 250 tall observation tower was located not far from the streetcar station. It was demolished in the 1930’s but it had once been the new fangled radio antenna tower for the demonstration of wireless communication during the 1904 Worlds Fair in St. Louis. The concrete footings for this tower are still visible in Creve Coeur Park. Also, there is a footing for the elevated railway that used to run to the lakefront from Electric Park still visible.

Fort Bellefontaine Park

The site of the first military post west of the Mississippi River, Fort Bellefontaine Park, was originally known as “Cantonment Belle Fontaine” and served as an Indian trading post for the local Sac, Fox, and other American Indian tribes. Established in 1805 on the south, low bank of the Mississippi River, this site was the jumping off point for the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery which camped there on May 14, 1804, the was also the last campsite for the Corps on September 22, 1806. Visit the “Belle Fontaine” spring and stand in the footsteps of these great explorers!

Zebulon Pike also used Fort Bellefontaine as the launching point for his expeditions to the American West in 1805 and 1806. And other explorations also launched from the post including the 1818 Yellowstone Expedition and the scientific expedition of Stephen Long. Truly, this little parcel of land played a huge part in the westward expansion of the fledgling United States of America.

Then Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Bissell took command of the Fort in 1809, and finding things not to his liking, moved the fort to a more strategic location at the top of the bluff. Thirty log buildings built on stone foundations were erected to house and service the troops stationed at the Fort. The log buildings have long ago disappeared into the dust of history but the quarry where the stone for the foundations was obtained is still there as is a stone building, an Officers’ Quarters (circa 1860), made from the original foundation stones that supported the log buildings. Col. Bissell was promoted to General and his house is still in existence and is located at 10225 Bellefontaine Road.

In 1826 Fort Bellefontaine was abandoned by the U.S. Army and was replaced by Jefferson Barracks (1826-1946).

The structures that are presently located on the upper area of Fort Bellefontaine Park are the Missouri Hills Home, originally called Bellefontaine Farms. Established in 1913, the buildings were built by the City of St. Louis as a detention home and training school for boys. The facility is still in use today as part of the Missouri Division of Youth Services as a home for at risk youth.

There was considerable activity in the area during the 1936 to 1940 period when the Works Progress Administration, under the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, built a number of stone structures to enhance the Missouri Hills Home and attract visitors to the scenic landscape. These structures, although largely in ruins today, are still there and are accessible by way of the Grand Staircase. Visit the Original Belle Fontaine Spring, the “Outdoor Living Room”, the Unfinished Comfort Station, the Old Stone Quarry with Chimney, and the Bath House Complex.

(Information about this park was excerpted from “Fort Bellefontaine Park – Walking Tour”, a brochure produced by St. Louis County Parks.

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