Are We Missing the Boat If We Fail to Promote Pacific As A Meramec River Destination?

One of The Longest Free Flowing Rivers in Missouri

By Pauline Masson – 

History tells us that when the first overland railroad expedition arrived here in 1853, people got off the train, walked to the river and returned to the quickly thrown up train depot at First and St. Louis streets – where a savvy real estate agent had stationed himself – and bought lots to move here. It was the beginning of the development of the town. Their walk to the river was the selling point. 

In recent decades the Meramec has not figured into the attractions of the city as leaders plumb the water for things that would bring visitors here. Instead, Tourist talk has focused on our Railroad Heritage, Route 66, and the urban center 32 miles to the east.

There is no valid argument that would bar tourists who find their way to the Meramec River from enjoying a treasure trove of fishing, float trips, state parks, world class caves, hiking trails, and history stories galore – Jesse James, Biblical floods, doomed paddlewheel steamers and a historic gravel queen.

The Missouri Nature Conservancy calls it the top-ranked watershed in the Midwest. And the State Conservation Department says it is navigable from the confluence of Dry Fork, neat St. James until it enters the Mississippi River at Arnold, Missouri.

Along the route there are county and state parks, animal sanctuaries, caves, hiking trails, and plentiful fishing holes.

So the question is, can, and should, Pacific use Meramec River Lore to attract visitors to Pacific by touting the sites on the Meramec that are worth visiting? 

Local geologist and state park tour guide Jo Schaper says if we don’t, we’re missing the boat.

“I’ve never understood why Pacific turned its back on the Meramec,” Ms Schaper said.

Jo is the current president of the Meramec River Recreation Association (MRRA) – an organization that knows a lot about the Meramec.

The MRRA is a collaboration of federal, state, regional and green space organizations, dedicated to preserving the river and recreation spots along its banks from Sullivan to the confluence with the Mississippi.

In a YouTube video created to connect outdoor enthusiasts with the Meramec, Jo depicts, the highs and lows in the history of the Meramec and concludes with the good news of the renewed life of the river since the MRRA was inaugurated in 1975.

Today the Meramec River is a Mecca of outdoor amenities. We who live along its banks may view the constant stream as an unpredictable neighbor that occasionally floods. But anglers, cavers, hikers and open space enthusiasts now find services and spots for a great vacation along the Meramec

The Meramec flows 218 miles from its headwaters southeast of Salem to where it empties into the Mississippi River. Pacific is mile 145.3 placing it within reach of state parks, conservation areas and hiking trails in Dent, Phelps, Crawford, Franklin, Jefferson, and St. Louis counties. Pacific is flanked by three first-rate state Parks, Route 66 State Park in Eureka and Robertsville State Park in Robertsville and Don Robinson State Park to the south..

Numerous trails along the river and up over the bluffs give the hikers a glimpse of the rolling Ozark hills..

For some Pacific residents the most prominent impression of the Meramec is the occasional floods that inundate the lower part of the city. But a quick sift through old newspapers reveals a thoroughfare that brought early settlers to the area, delivered timber and gravel from upstream for shipment on the railroad, ice cutters that cushioned the comfort of rail passengers, and preserved food and cooled summer drinks for local folks.  

Early life on the Meramec, Jo reminds us, the beautiful stream become a dumping ground. Visitors left their trash on the banks and in the water. Sand and gravel miners abandoned their worn out barges on its banks. Property owners dumped abandoned cars to hold the banks in place. 

In the 1965 Open Space Councils of Greater St Louis  and East West Council of Governments were both formed and St Louis County parks took a look at the polluted river. Two years later the Open Space Council, using citizen volunteers, focused on cleaning up the river by forming annual clean ups that continue to this day and have been tremendously successful

In 1975 Governor Christopher Bond created the lower Meramec River Recreation Area to promote environmental stewardship and recreation on the Meramec from Sullivan to the Mississippi on the Meramec River. That grew into the Meramec River Recreation Association ( MRRA).

This organization is a collaboration of federal, state and local governments, environmental, recreation and trail groups and private citizens.

Current members are MO DNR, MDC, St Louis County Parks, Jefferson and Franklin counties cities of Arnold, Eureka, Fenton, Kirkwood ,Pacific, Sunset Hills, Valley Park, and Wildwood, as well as the Open Space Council, Missouri Clean Streams, East West Gateway Council of Governments, Metropolitan Sewer District, Nature Conservancy, Great Rivers Greenway, Shaw Nature Reserve Ozark Trail Association, Tyson Research Center, Magi Foundation – plus nine citizens three each from Jefferson Franklin and St. Louis counties and three members at large to serve three-year terms. 

Jo was very careful on her YouTube video to recognized all the participants. This illustrious group has attracted partners of the  US Army Corps of Engineers, US Geologic survey, Riverkeepers, Meramec Valley Trail Association, Great Rivers Habitat Alliance Trulaske Foundation, Alpine Shop and Meramec Caverns.

“Our job,” Jo said. “I to take are of the river.”  

And it has worked. This 44-year collaboration has brought the river back from being a dirty industrial stream prone to flooding and is turning it back into a recreational green space

Jo’s YouTube video includes an illustration of the Meramec Greenway that now stretches from the confluence of the Meramec with the Mississippi in the east to Pacific in the extreme west. The illustration shows green space along the entire length of the Meramec and shows river access points to guide river enthusiasts to recreation sites.

“Today good things are happening, such as there are fewer tires pulled out of the river this year than last year,” Jo said.

A lot of expertise has been expended and work has been done to make the Meramec and its watershed of pristine vacation destinations that are accessible.

We’ve taken ownership of the entire watershed, naming our school district and our history museum for the Meramec Valley.  Some people think Pacific is the Meramec Valley.

 So the question is, should we be advertising Pacific as a great destination for outdoor activities on the Meramec River.

The Open Space Council Operation Clean Stream will take place in two weeks on August 24, 2024.