Long before European settlers arrived, the area around present-day Kirkwood, Des Peres, and the Meramec River valley was part of the homeland of the Osage Nation, known to themselves as the Wazhazhe or “People of the Middle Waters.” The Osage and their ancestors lived throughout Missouri for centuries, using the region's forests, prairies, and river corridors for hunting, fishing, gathering, travel, and trade. The Meramec River and its tributaries provided abundant wildlife, fresh water, and natural pathways through the landscape.
The Osage were one of the most influential Native nations in the Midwest. By the 1700s, their territory extended across much of present-day Missouri and into neighboring states. They maintained a deep spiritual and cultural connection to the land, viewing rivers, animals, and the natural world as integral parts of their identity and traditions.
Archaeological evidence and Osage oral history indicate that the ancestors of the Osage lived in and around the greater St. Louis region for many generations before gradually shifting their primary settlements farther west. Even so, eastern Missouri and the Meramec watershed remained part of the broader landscape they traveled and used for hunting and seasonal activities.
In the early 1800s, a series of treaties with the United States forced the Osage to give up their Missouri homelands. Over time, they were removed from the region and eventually resettled in present-day Oklahoma, where the Osage Nation continues to thrive today. Although the landscape has changed dramatically since then, the area's history remains connected to the Osage people who lived on and cared for this land long before modern communities were established.
The Meramec Highlands, a picturesque area overlooking the Meramec River, played a significant role in the development of the surrounding community. Envisioned as an elegant retreat for affluent Midwesterners, the Meramec Highlands Resort opened in 1894 on more than 400 acres of scenic riverfront property. At its height, the resort featured a 125-room luxury hotel, summer cottages, a train depot, swimming beach, boathouse, mineral bathhouse, tennis and croquet courts, a dance pavilion, as well as its own post office and general store.
The resort quickly became a favored destination for St. Louis's social and business elite, attracting prominent politicians, industrialists, entertainers, and other notable visitors. Its success, however, proved difficult to sustain. As automobiles made travel more accessible, vacation habits changed, and the resort gradually lost its appeal. The challenges of Prohibition and later economic hardships further accelerated its decline. By the 1920s, many establishments in the area had shifted away from the refined atmosphere that originally defined the resort.
A devastating fire destroyed the hotel in 1926, bringing an end to the grand resort era. Most of the original structures were eventually lost, but several of the historic summer cottages remain today, serving as reminders of a time when Meramec Highlands was one of the region's premier destinations.