112 Parks in 112 Days

Recently a friend posted the following status on Facebook:

I discovered that there are 111 parks in the city of St. Louis–112 when you include Tower Grove Park which is privately owned. I decided that I will visit each of them this summer. Serendipitously, there are 112 days from today to Labor Day. So each day I will post a few pics from one of my visits. #112parks112days

A few hours later he posted three images from the first park he visited.

This prompted a discussion about the role of St. Louis & Missouri in the Civil War, including learning more about the park namesake, Nathaniel Lyon:

In February of 1861, Lyon was made commander of the Union arsenal in St. Louis, Missouri, where tensions grew between the Union soldiers stationed there and the secessionist governor of the state, Claiborne Jackson. When the Civil War broke out, Jackson refused to send volunteers from the state to fight for Abraham Lincoln. Instead, Jackson had the militia muster outside the city to begin training in preparation to join Confederate forces. On May 10, 1861, Lyon and his troops surrounded the pro-Confederate Missouri militia under General D. M. Frost, and forced their surrender. While marching his captured prisoners through St. Louis, many citizens began to riot, and provoked the Camp Jackson Affair, during which Lyon ordered his troops to fire into the rioters. On May 17, 1861, Lyon was promoted to brigadier general and was given command of Union troops in Missouri.

On August 10, 1861 the Union forces met a combined force of the Missouri Militia and Confederate troops under the command of Ben McCulloch near Springfield, Missouri, during the battle of Wilson’s Creek. Nathaniel Lyon was killed during the battle while trying to rally his outnumbered soldiers. Although the Confederate forces would win the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, Lyon’s efforts prevented the State of Missouri from joining the Confederacy.

Here is the list of parks he’s visited so far, in order:

1. Lyon Park
2. Cherokee Park
3. Benton Park
4. Minniewood Park
5. Laclede Park
6. Marquette Park
7. Gravois Park
8. Amberg Park
9. Joseph Leisure Park
10. Christy Park
11. Sherman Park
12. Marie Fowler Park

For privacy reasons his Facebook posts aren’t public. What’s great about Jeff’s project is he’s getting out everyday, seeing a new park. You might not want to do the same, but it’s appealing. Jeff’s project will last over three and a half month. At one park per week it would take someone over two years to visit them all. I hope to convince Jeff to turn this project into a blog, visible to everyone.

Official information on all our parks:

• City of St. Louis Parks
• Tower Grove Park 

Thank you to Jeff Wunrow for sharing his project with friends, and allowing me to share it here.

— Steve Patterson