Visit Missouri-Review of Faust Park

 

Butterfly House

There are many interesting parks in the St. Louis metro area and I enjoy visiting them.  On a beautiful September morning I toured parts of Faust Park with a photography group that I mentor. Faust Park is located in Chesterfield, Missouri which is in St. Louis County. On this visit we spent our time in the historical village, but on other occasions I have visited some of the many features of the park.  It is complete with a playground, picnic areas, walking paths, a lake and so much more.  In this post I will give you some of the highlights of the park and share my photos with you.

History of Faust Park

The land that is now Faust Park was originally owned by Frederick Bates who was the 2nd governor of the state of Missouri.  In 1819 Bates built an estate on the property and called it Thornhill.  That building still stands and is open for the public to see what life was like in the 1800 and 1900's. 

In 1968 Leicester Busch Faust acquired 100 acres of the land and opened it to the public as a park.  By 1995 the park area had doubled in size.

St. Louis Carousel

The St. Louis Carousel was built in the 1920's and for years it delighted visitors to the Forest Park area.  It was in an amusement park called the Highlands.  In 1963 when there was a fire at the Highlands forcing it to close, the carousel was moved to Faust Park.  Today it is housed in a building at Faust Park and is a delight for kids of all ages.  I have taken all four of my granddaughters there at different times and they always enjoyed riding the majestic horses.

Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House

In 1998 the Butterfly House opened in Faust Park.  This beautiful building, which is pictured at the beginning of this post, houses a wonderful collection of butterflies.  I worked for several years as a volunteer at the house and I was able to guide the public as they toured the Butterfly House.  I learned a lot about butterflies and various insects and enjoyed photographing the butterflies.  Here is a link to some of my photos and an article on photographing butterflies. 

Photographing Butterflies

Historic Village

The historic village at Faust Park consists of a collection of nineteenth century St. Louis County homes and buildings. They all were in danger of being demolished and were rescued and moved to the village at Faust Park by the St. Louis County Parks Department.  The buildings date from about 1840 to 1900.  You can read more information about the village at Faust Park Historic Village

There was not a formal tour going on the day we visited so we wandered through the village taking photos and enjoying the historic buildings.  As we approached one of the houses a worker for the parks department offered to give our group a tour of that home.  It was the Davis House, and we were able to go inside on the main floor where she gave us a bit of information about the house.  Here is a photo I took of the outside and one of the front parlor.

Below you will see a photo I took of the 1800's General Store.

There were several other homes in the village.  Here are three of them.  You will note that each is a completely different style from the others.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

FOLLOW US ON: