Kimmswick Off The Beaten Path Tips by deecat

Whole Town of Kimmswick Is "Off the Beaten Path"

Kimmswick was laid out in 1858 by a German named Theodore Kimm. He named the town after himself & added the German word "wick", which means town or village.
At that time, the St. Louis/Iron Mountain, Southern Railroad came through Kimmswick, so by 1858 people started to arrive. There were settlers, farmers, & tradesmen. The town grew & had an iron forge, grist mill, brewery, limestone quarries, & green houses (they shipped flowers to St. Louis.
Like St. Louis, Kimmswick was laid out in the grid pattern of blocks, subdivided by lots & alleyways. There were several hotels, a lumber yard, slaughter house, saloons, mercantile stores, jewelry store, blacksmith, butcher shop, a bootery, and three schools, "one for whites, one for blacks, & St. Joseph Catholic School (which remained until 1999)".
Mrs. Kimm passed away in St. Louis in 1876 and was buried in Jefferson Square Park beside their only child, Ernest Peltzer Kimm.
(see photo)
"Montesano Park, an amusement park owned by the Columbia Excursion Company was located on the north side of town. It featured a hotel, restaurant, dance pavilion, a boating lake, merry-go-round, roller coaster, pony track, bowling alleys, shooting gallery, & tent show. The park attracted many visitors who arrived by Steamboats & Trains. The Park closed in 1918".
When automobiles became the main form of transportation, & the new highways were built (which passed the town by), everything slowed down. Businesses moved to the new highways, & Kimmswick was forgotten.
Old buildings were torn down (National Hotel, the Bank, & the Woodsman Hall)
In the 1970's Lucianna Gladney Ross started restoration of the town. Old log buildings were moved here from other sites to be preserved. But now, the Huck Finn river boat paddles down from St. Louis on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month from May through October & docks..
Even though it's still "Off the Beaten Path", it's now alive with shops, restaurants, & a Bed and Breakfast.

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