Meacham Park, Missouri was established in 1892 when Elzey Eugene Meacham, a white real estate speculator from Memphis, Tennesse purchased 158.61 acres for $33,308. Meacham named the area after himself. The land was divided into 25 foot lots and sold mostly to whites although Meacham made the lots available at a lower price to attract African Americans. Some of the early settlers in Meacham Park were farmers.
Meacham Park was a thriving interracial neighborhood until well after WWI. However, after WWII the black population in Meacham Park increased and the white popultion decreased. Meacham Park has constantly undergone changes throughout its history both good and bad. Meacham Park was an unincorporated part of St. Louis County until the 1991 annexation into Kirkwood.
1892 – Elzey E. Meacham purchases land and begins to sell lots
1896 – Sandy Spears, a farmer and real estate broker, is the first African American to live in Meacham Park
1906 – African American children attend Booker T. Washington School, white children attend Jefferson School
1908 – Meacham Park School built for the 14 white children (52 African American children have to walk to Booker T. Washington School
1912 – George Cabiness opens the first store in Meacham Park
1919 – D.M. Powell opens a grocery store; Powell is the first African American store owner in Meacham Park and becomes a prominent businessman in Meacham Park
1920 – Kirkwood School District pays tuition for African American students to attend Sumner High School in St. Louis
1921 – New Booker T. Washington School built
1924 – Meacham Park School opens; renovated in 1938; later known as the J. Milton Turner School
1930 – D.M. Powell organizes the “Powell’s Grocery” baseball team; some went on to play in the Negro Leagues
1951 – Joe Cole founds Club 44 with the Kirkwood YMCA
1954 – Brown v. Board of Education; African American students enroll in Kirkwood School District for all grades
1957 – Kirkwood annexed 100 foot strip of commercial property from Meacham Park that consisted of most of Meacham Park’s commercial area; some residents begin to distrust Kirkwood
1968 – Construction on I-44 takes some land from the Southeast corner of Meacham Park
1968 – William “Bill” Jones starts publishing In Our Opinion, a newspaper
1968 – Water and sewage systems installed using a Federal Grant from HUD
1988 – Urban League hired to survey residents about redevelopment, annexation, and general concerns; results showed that most residents were in favor of redevelopment and annexation
1991 – Meacham Park annexed into Kirkwood (approval of 83% of Meacham Park and 72% of Kirkwood voters)
1994 – OPUS Corporation awarded contract for redevelopment of Meacham Park
1995 – Desco Group replaces OPUS Corporation as developer
1999 – Kirkwood Commons open
2005 – Kevin Johnson shoots and kills Sgt. William McEntee, Kirkwood Police Officer, in Meacham Park
2008 – Meacham Park resident Charles “Cookie” Thornton opens fire at Kirkwood City Hall meeting, killing five; Thornton is shot and killed by Kirkwood Police
Sources:
http://ci.kirkwood.mo.us/com-dev/meacham-intro.htm
Meacham Park: A History 1892-1989 by Lonnie R. Speer
http://www.cfuh.org/HistoryDraft.pdf
My father the late Rev.Lawrence W. Cannon was a long time resident and prominent black businessman in the community of Meacham Park until the buyout of Meacham Parkfor the WalMart Commons. In 1958 he started Rev. Cannon & Sons Refuse Hauling , he had a fleet of five International Trucks all equipped with CB’s, with four continously in use and the fifth truck on standby in the event of any down truck and he had two Cushman Dumpback scooters to complete his fleet. He hired mainly residents in Meacham Park, but had both back and white employees, some from Pacific, St. Genevieve, Festus, Richmond Heights, North St. Louis. One emlpoyee went on to become a professional wrestler under name of Ice Man King Parson.
Rev. Cannon’s business included both business and residential customers in Chesterfield, Ballwin, Wildwood, Manchester, Oakland, Kirkwood, Greenbriar, Huntleigh Village and Peerless Park. He later went on to bid on and won contracts with The City of Oakland, Grantwood Village and City of Des Peres. He was good friends with late Mayor Shirley Sweets of Des Peres. These contracts made him the largest black Refuse Hauler in St. Louis County.
He was involved and very vocal in Meacham Park/Kirkwood community issues along with late Bill Jones, Harriet Patton of the now Meacham Park Neighborhood Association
I feel he was an intricate part of Meacham Park Business and Community History and should be added to the History of Meacham Park.
I just submitted information on Rev, Lawrencwe Cannon & Sons of Meacham Park and forgot to put my email information. If you need more info you may email me back