Rock Bridge Memorial State Park History
In 1961 The Stoerker family of
Columbia, Missouri suffered the loss of their daughter Carol
in a tragic car accident. As a memorial to his daughter Lew
Stoerker, then a Professor of Speech and Dramatic Art at the
University of Missouri –Columbia, began a mission to get park
facilities established for the youth of the area to enjoy. It
was a daunting task, which required the efforts of the entire
Columbia community with Lew leading the way.
Lew originally envisioned the
park as Carolew Memorial Park, but the name was
eventually changed to Rock Bridge Memorial State Park,
providing a broader and more historical appeal to the effort.
Eventually he had a firm option to purchase more than 1,300
acres south of Columbia. The area included the now famous
Rock Bridge and Devil's Icebox as well as other areas
of interest that the State Park Board had also been
considering for development as a park.
As a result of an agreement
between the State Park Board and a newly formed local Park
Board, whose original members included among others Dr. Jim
Denninghoff and Mrs. Hilda Petri, the Columbia
community would need to raise $175,000 to fulfill the
requirements for purchase and secure state management and
maintenance of the envisioned park. Lew Stoerker was
instrumental in mobilizing fundraising efforts.
The first donation received was
$10.00 made by brother and sister Barbara and David Aufranc.
They had been childhood friends of Carol Stoerker, and raised
their funds by selling homemade pot holders and brownies door to
door.
In 1965 Lew Stoerker recalled the donation of $10,000.00 by Dr. and Mrs. Frederick A. Middlebush, "Without them, we never could have got off the ground." The ball was finally rolling and in eighteen months a total of over $85,000.00 was raised for the park effort. The efforts paid off, as the necessary funds were eventually raised through community wide efforts, in particular led by members of the staff of the University of Missouri-Columbia. In 1967, the area was established as a state park.
Today, visitors can explore the natural wonders of the 2,273-acre park along more than 15 miles of hiking and bicycling trails.
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This webpage was last updated on April 16, 2008
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