ST. LOUIS -- Missouri's newest state park is about to open at the confluence of the nation's two largest rivers.
The 1,100-acre Edward "Ted" and Pat Jones Confluence Point State Park, to be dedicated by Gov. Bob Holden on Saturday is in St. Charles County where the Missouri River flows into the Mississippi. Until now, it was only possible to view the confluence across the Missouri River on the St. Louis County side.
Confluence State Park is meant for day visitors and will not have boating access or camping.
Most of the former farmland will be left alone and allowed to return to wetland.
Gov. Bob Holden will dedicate features a wheelchair-accessible path and wooded area, with a map and information on the area's natural and cultural history, including displays on Lewis and Clark and the history of the two rivers. A flood pole at the park marks the record water level of the Great Flood of 1993.
"When you see that, you're going to step back and think about it," said Brian Stith, who oversees operations at Confluence Point and other parks in the St. Louis area and in southeast Missouri.
During park construction, care was taken not to disturb a mating pair of bald eagles that had a nest near the confluence point along the Mississippi River.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources acquired the land with the help of several private and government groups. The Danforth Foundation provided the funding for the initial acreage through the River Network. The department got more land in 2002 with a federal grand through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The park is named for Pat Jones of Williamsburg and her late husband, who have supported the state park system by buying land used to build the Katy Trail. The trail may one day link with the new park at the confluence.
Venetia McEntire, who owns the Boone's Lick Trail Inn in St. Charles, said guests often asked how to get to the confluence point.
"Anything that creates awareness about our heritage, and using our waterways ... is definitely a plus for us," McEntire said. "I think it'll be absolutely a wonderful thing."
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