Meacham Park is a neighborhood of the city of Kirkwood, Missouri outside of St. Louis City in St. Louis County. It was established in 1892 by Elzey E. Meacham[1] as an unincorporated community largely of African Americans and was eventually annexed by the city of Kirkwood, which relocated many of its residents to make way for a mall and other commercial property.[2] Kirkwood previously annexed another strip and, along with the construction of a highway, physically divided the communities. Years of discrimination and neglect followed with Meacham used for public housing projects but not receiving the public services of its neighboring city. After it was annexed and hundreds of residents relocated or departed, tensions continued as its school was closed, requests for a community center at the closed school denied, and contracts made for city business with firms outside Meacham.
Meacham Park | |
|---|---|
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| Coordinates: 38°33′52.4″N 90°23′59.1″W / 38.564556°N 90.399750°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Missouri |
| County | St. Louis |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
During segregation Meacham Park stood apart with its own institutions.[3]
On February 7, 2008, Charles L. "Cookie" Thornton, a construction business owner and lifelong resident of Meacham Park, opened fire at a Kirkwood city council meeting, resulting in the deaths of five people.[4]
The former J. Milton Turner School building in Meacham Park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Also, the neighborhood's First Baptist Church, established in 1907 and originally built next to the J. Milton Turner School, was one of the first buildings in the St. Louis area that was owned by African Americans.[1]
The area includes the 1.25 acre Meacham Memorial Park.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b Atherton, Kelly (September 7, 2007). "A 'Beacon of Light': First Baptist Church of Meacham Park celebrates 100th anniversary on Sept. 8, 9". Timesnewspapers.com. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
- ^ "Black history is deeply rooted in formation of Meacham Park in Kirkwood". Webster Journal. March 21, 2018.
- ^ Wright, John Aaron (January 4, 2004). St. Louis: Disappearing Black Communities. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738533629 – via Google Books.
- ^ Cooperman, Jeannette (April 25, 2008). "The Kirkwood Shootings: Kirkwood, Meacham Park and the Racial Divide". www.stlmag.com.
- ^ "Parks | City Of Kirkwood, MO". www.kirkwoodparksandrec.org.