Missouri Parks Association Records (S0938)

Collection Number: S0938

Collection Title: Parks Association Records

Dates: 1982-1995

Creator: Missouri Parks Association

Abstract: The Missouri Parks Association Records (MPA) contain correspondence, legal materials, board meeting minutes, publications, newsletters, and reports relating to the organization’s mission to protect, enhance, and preserve Missouri state parks and historic sites. Included in the collection is MPA’s serial publication The Heritage. The bulk of this collection includes correspondence to and from board members as well as Missouri’s political figures including former Missouri governors, senators, and attorney general. These individuals include John Ashcroft, Mel Carnahan, and Kit Bond. Additionally, these records contain the National Park Services’ National Register of Historic Places – Nomination Forms for architectural sites in Missouri state parks that hold historical significance, such as bridges, lodges, and cabins.

Collection Size: 0.8 cubic foot (13 folders)

Language: Collection materials are in English.

Repository: The State Historical Society of Missouri

Restrictions on Access: Collection is open for research. This collection is available at The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-St. Louis. If you would like more information, please contact us at [email protected]. Collections may be viewed at any research center.

Restrictions on Use: Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Rights & Reproductions on the Society’s website for more information about reproductions and permission to publish.

Preferred Citation: [Specific item; box number; folder number] Missouri Parks Association Records (S0938); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-St. Louis [after first mention may be abbreviated to SHSMO-St. Louis].

Donor Information: The records were donated to the University of Missouri by Leo Drey on February 28, 1995 (Accession No. SA3180).

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Processed by: Processed by Zachary Palitzsch, September 3, 2019

Historical Note:

The Missouri Parks Association (MPA) was founded on August 17, 1982, by Charles Callison, Roger W. Hershey, and Jerry Overton to protect and preserve Missouri state parks and historic sites. Callison, the former vice-president of the National Audubon Society, served as the group’s first director. At the time, Missouri State Parks had suffered from low public funding, which led MPA to sponsor a ballot measure in August 1984, proposing a one-tenth cent sales tax. Voters approved the measure, resulting in $13 million per year for Missouri State Parks and historic sites. Missouri State Parks received another boost in funding when Missouri voters approved MPA’s proposed state bond issue for capital improvements, resulting in another $60 million in funding for Missouri parks.

By 1985, Missouri legislators began looking to MPA to help improve their respective district’s parks, museums, and zoos. One such proposal came from then-governor John Ashcroft, who proposed using $1.4 million in park funds to repair the outside of the state capitol building. While some proposals were important, most were not park-related projects. MPA was successful in convincing the Missouri legislature to block some of the non-park proposals. Unfortunately, they were less successful in protecting all funds from going into various state services, and over the next few years, legislative and executive officials were able to take general revenue for parks and use it for other state functions. Due to MPA’s lobbying efforts, however, the one-tenth cent sales tax had grown to nearly $25 million annually.

Arrangement:

The collection has been arranged into the following three series:

Administrative Records Publications Parks Register of Historic Places Inventory

Scope and Content Note:

Administrative Records

This series contains correspondence, legal materials, board meeting minutes, financial records, and membership information relating to the inception of MPA and its efforts to lobby the public and state officials for support of Missouri State Parks. Included in this series is correspondence to and from board members, as well state legislatures and officials, including then-Attorney General John Ashcroft and then-Governor Mel Carnahan. This series is arranged chronologically.

Publications

This series consists of literature and ephemera published by the Missouri Parks Association, including newsletters and brochures. Predominant in the series is MPA’s newsletter Heritage. Some of the topics include updates on legislation affecting Missouri parks; articles on the annual Missouri Conference on State Parks; and news items on the restoration of historic buildings in Missouri and upcoming events held in state parks. MPAS publishes The Heritage

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newsletter arbitrarily throughout the year. Also included in this series are drafts from MPA’s book, Exploring Missouri’s Legacy: State Parks and Historic Sites (1992), which they published to promote the state’s parks and historic sites. This series is arranged chronologically.

Parks Register of Historic Places Inventory

This series contains materials relating to MPA’s efforts to place selected Missouri State Park architecture into the National Register of Historic Places. Included in the register are written reports on physical appearance of specific natural and man-made buildings, sites, and structures in each park as well as accompanying copies of photographs of the architecture. The state parks included in this series are Arrow Rock, Babler, Bennett Spring, Crowder, Cuivre River, Knob Noster, Lake of the , Lewis and Clark, Meramec, Mark Twain, Montauk, Roaring River, Sam A. Baker, Van Meter, and Washington. This series is arranged alphabetically.

Container List:

f. 1-7 Administrative Box 001 f. 1-7 Correspondence, legal materials, board meeting minutes, 1982-1994 f. 8-10 Publications f. 8-10 Newsletters, brochures, and park information, 1983-1995 f. 11-13 Parks Register of Historic Places Inventory f. 11 Arrow Rock, Babler, Bennett Springs, Crowder, Cuivre River, 1982-1984 f. 12 Knob Noster, Lake of the Ozarks, Lewis and Clark, 1982-1984 f. 13 Mark Twain, Meramec, Montauk, Roaring River, Sam A. Baker, Van Meter, Washington, 1982-1984

Index:

Index Term Folder Image Arrow Rock (Mo.) 11 Ashcroft, John D. 3-6 Bond, Christopher S. 1 Bennett Spring State Park (Mo.) 6, 11 Yes Callison, Charles H. 1, 3-7 Carnahan, Mel 6, 7 (Mo.) 11 Yes (Mo.) 11 Yes Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park (Mo.) 11 Yes Historic parks--Missouri 11-13 Yes Historic preservation--Missouri 1-13 Historic sites--Missouri 11-13 Yes (Mo.) 12 Yes Lake of the Ozarks State Park (Mo.) 12 Yes Lewis and Clark State Park (Mo.) 12 Yes

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Index Term Folder Image Mark Twain State Park (Mo.) 13 Yes (Mo.) 13 Yes Missouri. Department of Natural Resources 2-10 Missouri. Division of Parks and Historic Preservation. 1-13 Natural History Program. Missouri. Division of State Parks 1-13 Missouri State Park Advisory Board 6 Missouri. State Park Board 1-10 (Mo.) 13 Yes Parks--Missouri Rails-to-Trails Conservancy 4 (Mo.) 13 Yes Sam A. Baker State Park (Mo.) 13 Yes (Mo.) 13 Yes (Mo.) 13 Yes

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