Tower Grove Park History

Описание: Today, Reese and local historian Andrew Wanko are taking a walk through Tower Grove Park and discussing its rich history as an important St. Louis space.

Henry Shaw, businessman and botanist, came from England to settle in the (then small) city of St. Louis. When Shaw arrived as a young man in 1819, the city limits only extended to 18th street, where Union Station sits and the population was around 15,000 people.

At that time, the land that is now Tower Grove Park was a large, open prairie for the French colonial city. It was public land that people could use to gather firewood or graze their cattle. Shaw loved the space and purchased the entire 700 acres, using it as the land to build his country home. The Tower Grove House, one of the oldest homes in the city now found in the center of the Missouri Botanical Garden, was built in 1849 and gave the park its name.

One of the things that makes Tower Grove Park unique is its variety of trees throughout. The public arboretum became so varied when Shaw sought out plant specimens from around the world. He planted more than 20,000 trees throughout the park to create an exotic, once in a lifetime experience for those who would stroll along the paths and appreciate the diverse plant life.

More than a century later, Tower Grove Park has many uses and is visited by countless city residents each and every day. Henry Shaw wanted to create a beautiful space for St. Louis and his legacy lives on in the enjoyment of the space day after day.