Kennedy Recreation Complex
Outdoor Olympic-size swimming pool, community meeting room (capacity 25-30 people), indoor ice skating rink, lighted tennis courts and creative playground. Quail Creek Golf Course is in the same complex.
PARK HISTORY
The Kennedy Recreation Complex property was purchased with the 1969 Bond Issue funds and a L&WCF grant. The entire park is subject to Land & Water 6(f) restrictions. The property is a combination of one large farm and seven farm sites. Development of the property began in 1974 and the recreation complex, designed by R. W. Booker & Associates, was dedicated in 1976. St. Louis County signed a 20-year lease agreement in January 1986 for the construction of a golf course. The Quail Creek Golf Course opened to the public on June 1, 1987. The golf lease was renewed in 1999. The new expiration date of the lease is September 1, 2029.
The park was originally called South County Park, and the name was changed on January 24, 1993 to honor Wayne C. Kennedy, who had served as director of the Department of Parks and Recreation from 1962 until his retirement in 1991.
A new playground was completed in June 2002. A new master plan completed in 2003 by Jacobs Facilities, Inc., calls for a complete rebuilding of the recreation complex.
Wayne C. Kennedy Park is included in the Meramec River Greenway.
Wayne C. Kennedy was born in Remsen, Iowa, and came to St. Louis in 1947 because it was the home of his first wife. He earned his master’s degree from St. Louis University and worked for the Mehlville School District as a math, history, and physical education teacher, and later became assistant principal at the junior high school. During this time he was essential in the construction and establishment of the R-9 Community Center, which is now owned by the County Parks. Kennedy became county recreation supervisor and in 1961 received the first place award for the promotion of recreation in the United States from the National Recreation Association. When Charles Skow died in 1962 Kennedy was subsequently named as the Director of St. Louis County Parks. In his three decades with the park he was able to increase the park acreage from just over 1,000 to nearly 13,000. He oversaw the acquisition and development of Bee Tree, Laumeier, Suson, Lone Elk, Greensfelder, as well as other parks. He retired in January of 1991. South County Park has since been changed to the Wayne C. Kennedy Park, which also houses the Wayne C. Kennedy Recreation Complex.
~ from St. Louis County Parks website (
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