Many visitors to Fort Belle Fontaine Park are curious about the large buildings in the center of the area. They are the Missouri Hills Campus of the Missouri Division of Youth Services. The park shares the entrance drive with the Campus. Visitors are asked to stop at the guard house at the entrance to the property, where they will be directed to parking areas. The park area and trail surround the Campus like a big donut.
The Missouri Hills Home, like the park, also has a rich history. Originally called Bellefontaine Farms, it was built in 1913 as an orphanage and home for boys and run by the City of St. Louis.
One of the highlights of the Missouri Hills Home was a visit by Eleanor Roosevelt. Here is part of her recording about the day.
MY DAY.
By Eleanor Roosevelt.
Pittsburgh, Pa., Monday – I visited a training school for boys between the ages of 12 and 18, yesterday afternoon [Sunday, November 5, 1939]. It is about 16 miles out of St. Louis and is run on the cottage system with much land around it. The boys work three hours of the day on academic school courses and four hours on actual labor jobs.
(Copyright, 1939, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)
Eleanor Roosevelt Visits Fort Belle. Spanish Lake Community Association, http://spanishlakemo.org/rec_fbf_history_er
Park hours are 8 a.m. to one half hour past official sunset. The park shares property with a state facility, so there is a guard gate at the entrance of the property. Sign in as a park visitor.
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NOTICE: Please be respectful of the posted park hours. If you enter the park after hours you are trespassing. If you are stopped you can be ticketed or arrested and will put the future of geocaching in the parks in jeopardy. Special permission to hide caches in St. Louis County parks is NOT needed as long as the Groundspeak rules are followed. "Blanket Permission" has been worked out in advance with the park service. DO NOT CALL THE PARK as they cannot handle the calls. The Groundspeak cache reviewer does need to know exactly how and where the caches are hidden and what type of containers are used. The geocaching liaisons will notify the park service of new caches. Remember NO AMMO BOXES or PVC PIPE caches.
IF ANY SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY OR DAMAGE IS NOTICED IN A ST. LOUIS COUNTY PARK, PLEASE CALL 314-615-8911 AND REPORT IT.
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