Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites: Exploring Our Legacy

In this stunning book, four accomplished writers and lifelong conservationists team up with keen-eyed photographers to capture the compelling history, beauty, and recreational value of Missouri’s unique state park system, one that has been ranked among the top four in the nation. The book features hundreds of photographs and includes information on all 88 state parks and historic sites, including the longest developed rails-to-trail project in the nation, homes of famous Missourians, Civil War battlefields, and other reminders of the past such as mills and covered bridges. The authors tell the complete story of the park system, from its inception in 1917 to the newest state park created in 2015, encompassing much of Missouri’s history as well as its scenic and varied landscape.

Susan Flader is Professor Emerita of U.S. Western, environmental, and Missouri history at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

John A. Karel is former president of the L-A-D Foundation and former Director of State Parks and of Tower Grove Park in St. Louis.

B. H. Rucker (1939–2016) devoted his career to state parks as chief of cultural resources and historic preservation.

Oliver Schuchard is a landscape photographer and professor emeritus of art at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Two co-authors of the first edition are deceased: R. Robert Pryor (1945-1999) was Executive Director of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment, and Charles Callison (1913-1993) was Executive Vice President of the National Audubon Society.