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| Missouri Pacific Railroad Station at Castlewood (1920s) |
Hi everyone! My name is Lara, and I am a graduate history student at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. I am currently working to uncover, or rather piece together the history of Castlewood - and I need your help.
What is Castlewood? Well, that is a long and complicated story. Today, Castlewood is a state park located in Ballwin, Missouri. However, from the late nineteenth through the mid-twentieth century it was a thriving resort community. The community itself was owned by several companies over the decades, but it was most commonly known as “Castlewood Camp.” Within Castlewood there were several hotels, bars (Speakeasies in the 20s -30s), dance halls, churches, restaurants, clubs, a beach, and eventually a large half-moon shaped pool.
Despite the fact that at one point Castlewood attracted over 10,000 visitors each weekend, there is no comprehensive or accurate history of the area. I believe that Castlewood, as a resort and a tight knit residential community deserves a through historical analysis so that its impact can be fully appreciated.
Through this blog, I invite you to share your memories, pictures and thoughts about the community. If you or your family members lived within/ around the resort, or just visited on the weekends, I would love to speak with you in person. I can be contacted at lara.kuehling@gmail.com or larakuehling@yahoo.com. Thank you for your support!
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| Washington Hotel & MP Railroad Station |
Sounds like a great idea! I too was surprised at the lack of a comprehensive history of the area.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Ballwin and visited it on a regular,I grew up in 80s and 90s so we partied out there a lot but I never knew there was such history there,that's awesome, there is another little town close by with lots of history Glencoe Missouri
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