Tag: Valley Park

Valley Park is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 6,518 at the 2000 census.
The town was a Mississippian Indian settlement along the Meramec River as early as the mid-18th century, until it was settled by French and German immigrant farmers in the 1760s. The town over time was known as Nasby, Sulphur Springs, Quinette, Meramec, and finally Valley Park by around 1890. It had one of the first post offices established in St. Louis County. It also became a railroad hub for the Missouri Pacific and St. Louis-San Francisco rail lines.
In 1894, the town became the site of the first lynching in St. Louis County. A black man named John Buckner was lynched when accused of raping a local black woman and a white teenager. He was taken from the authorities by several local residents and farmers and hung from the main bridge in town overlooking the Meramec River. The lynchers were never apprehended.
In 1909, the town became incorporated. As many as 70 trains…