Lafayette Park

Sue at 314-231-5367 or call the Lafayette Park Square House at 314-772-5724 and leave a message.

Master Gardeners assist in the maintenance and preservation of this historic gem.

Lafayette Park was set aside from the St. Louis Common in 1836 and in 1851 established by city ordinance as one of the first public parks. It is considered by many historians to be the oldest urban park west of the Mississippi. Lafayette Park first served as a parade ground during the Civil War. Extensively landscaped after the war by the renowned landscape architect, Maximillian Kern, the park truly came into its own during the Victorian "Gilded Age" of the late 1800s.
Volunteering at Lafayette Park is a 12 month a year endeavor.  During winter months, volunteers work in the Forest Park greenhouse under the guidance of the Flora Conservancy assisting with seed and cuttings propagation.  During the spring, volunteers head back to Lafayette Park to prepare garden beds and plant the results of their winter's work.  Summer maintenance tasks include watering, mulching, pruning and landscape design.

This is a 2011 trainee volunteer site.