I think I found one of the most interesting and hidden gems of West County, the former resort area of the Meramec Highlands. After taking a wrong turn, my traveling companions and I stumbled on this unique hamlet of cottages dating from the 1890s.
Each cottage has its own name, which originally functioned as the address. Of the original cottages, only two are gone, leaving an almost intact subdivision of late Victorian shingle style houses.
I think every house is unique, with its own paint scheme and slightly different style of architecture.
The original hotel is gone, but it sat on the summit of this hill, which I have seen referred to as “Sunset Hill.”
Above and below are two wonderful cottages, each with their original name tag affixed to the side of the houses.
The Meramec Highlands train station, sold by the original developer to the railroad for one dollar (to encourage train service to the new resort), sat empty for years, until an architect fixed it up for his own house.
I think this blue house was one of my favorites in the community.
The last building, now a house, was originally a store for the resort, and where bank robbers once hid from the police.
Kirkwood is NOT "West County!" It is that only if taken into account that it is West of, say, Webster Groves."Weste Countye" begins around MO 141…I've lived a long stone's throw away from the Highlands since my family moved here in 1942. It was a very interesting area, particularly for boys exploring back in the '50s. The Museum of Transport was just beginning, and climbing on the engines was not discouraged.A nice old lady lived in the Frisco Station during those years – at least until the early '60s, as I recall.
I admit that West County is not the best way to describe Kirkwood, but Central County or South County seem less satisfactory.
I’ve lived most of my life in the Meramec Highlands, beginning in 1962. At that time it was definitely west county. Indeed, any further west back then was decidedly rural.
Growing up on Barberry lane in the Greenbriar subdivision in the 1960s was idyllic. I didn’t realize how good we had it
And we always knew it as west county
@ Steve S.: I long predate you in terms of being a Kwd resident, and in fact worked at the Pro Shop at GCC at least 6 years before you moved to the Highlands, so …
Kwd has never been “West County,” particularly in what “Weste Countye” has come to mean …
For the purposes of this website, Kirkwood west of I-270 is considered West County, as imperfect of a designation as that is. Kirkwood east of I-270 is Central County according to the boundaries of St. Louis Patina.
T.F.Mayer, so you’e been wrong longer than I’ve lived in West County, congratulations! 😉 There are no legal boundaries defining it so it is as people think of it, and like it or not, where I live HAD been commonly referred to as West County back then. Pop quiz, what was, and I think still is, the name of the shopping mall located at the south-east corner of 270 & Manchester? Right! West County Mall. Apparently they didn’t know where they were either. 🙂