Valley Park is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States.

[5] Descendants of the Mississippian culture still had a settlement along the Meramec River in the mid-18th century, until the Native Americans were pushed out by colonial French and German immigrant farmers in the 1760s.

[citation needed] The developing village over time was known as Nasby, Sulphur Springs, Quinette, Meramec, and finally Valley Park by circa 1890.

It developed as a railroad hub for the Missouri Pacific and St. Louis-San Francisco rail lines.

He was taken from the authorities by several local residents and farmers and hanged from the main bridge in town overlooking the Meramec River.

In the Great Flood of 1913, the main bridge was destroyed along with several factories causing extensive damage to the city's economy.

The remains were removed in order to allow for construction of the Meramec Valley River Basin Levee.

[9] In 2006, Valley Park was featured in local, state and national news media when the city's Board of Aldermen passed an ordinance almost identical to the ordinance passed by the city council of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, which penalized landlords who rented to "illegal aliens", businesses who employed "illegal aliens", and others who aided and abetted "illegal immigration."

Several landlords, along with the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council, filed suit against the city.

The lawsuit was supported by Bryan Cave, Washington University School of Law, St. Louis University Legal Clinic, the ACLU, MALDEF, the Hispanic Ministry of the Catholic Church and several private attorneys, who won a temporary restraining order.

Thereafter, following the city's passage and publication of an ordinance prohibiting the knowing employment of unlawful aliens, a subsequent suit was brought in state court, subsequently removed by the city to federal court.

The plaintiffs filed an appeal on procedural issues and asked for the district court decision to be vacated.

The Missouri General Assembly, in the 2008 legislative session, enacted legislation, to take effect in August 2009, which included language similar to Valley Park's unlawful employment ordinance, to be enforced by the Missouri Attorney General.

The state legislation had been under discussion and review for a significant time in both the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives.

With over seventy locomotives that visitors can look at and climb aboard, the museum has the most complete collection of American rail power anywhere,[11] and its collection of automobiles, buses, streetcars, aircraft, horse-drawn vehicles and river boat material reflects the ever-changing nature of transportation.

Guided walking tours and rides on the miniature Abbott Railroad (in season) are all part of the fun.

[12] The World Bird Sanctuary is located on 305 acres of hardwood forest adjacent to Lone Elk Park.

Crawford, working with Wild Kingdom star Marlin Perkins, recognized a need for an organization dedicated to birds of prey.

He also traveled nationwide to speak at conventions and banquets with his humorous and inspirational message of environmental conservation.

It is a small area to park and unload a boat or jet ski into the river, or for fishing.

It also has a large playground and plenty of open fields to play soccer, baseball or even fly a kite.

This park offers fishing access to the river, and open fields for flying kites, or playing football, soccer, or baseball.