Green Park, Missouri

Green Park is a city in South St. Louis County, Missouri. It had a population of 2,622 at the 2010 census.

History[edit]

Green Park derives its name from Green Park Road, which runs through what was previously an unincorporated portion of St. Louis County. Formerly mostly rural and devoted to truck farming, the area was gradually opened to suburban residential development. In 1994, Fred Hoehn led a movement among local citizens for the community to incorporate, which succeeded with a vote on April 4, 1995. The new city's first Board of Aldermen meeting was held on June 1 of that year.^[1]

Since the 1990s, Green Park has seen a significant influx of European-born immigrants, mostly from Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[2]

Geography[edit]

Green Park is bounded by Interstate 55 to the southeast, U.S. Route 50 (locally known as Lindbergh Boulevard) to the southwest, Missouri State Highway 21 (Tesson Ferry Road) to the northwest, and Grant's Trail (loosely paralleling Gravois Creek) to the northeast. It is located about 10 miles southwest of downtown St. Louis. Its official coordinates are 38°31′25″N 90°20′17″W.

The city lies on gently rolling terrain, with Gravois Creek, a small tributary of the Mississippi River, constituting the most important body of water. Green Park has a total area of 1.35 square miles, and an average elevation of 545 feet.^[3]

Demographics[edit]

At the 2010 census, Green Park had a total of 2,622 inhabitants, grouped into 1,001 households, with a population density of 1,936.5 people per square mile. This figure represented a slight increase from the 2000 census, when Green Park had a population of 2,666. 92.49% of the inhabitants were White, 1.37% were African-American, 0.04% were Native American, 3.47% were Asian, 0.08% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.31% were from some other race, and 2.25% were from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 1.68% of the population.

The median age in Green Park was 45.1 years, with 20.3% of inhabitants under the age of 18, 6.4% between 18 and 24 years old, 23.3% between 25 and 44, 28.3% between 45 and 64, and 21.8% 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 47.3% male, 52.7% female.^[4]

According to the 2018 American Community Survey, Green Park had a median household income of $60,563, and a median family income of $79,261. The unemployment rate was 4.4%. The per capita income was $29,379. About 5.5% of the population lived below the poverty line, including 9.5% of those under the age of 18 and 7.3% of those 65 years of age or older.^[5]

Government[edit]

Green Park has a mayor-council form of government, its elected officials consisting of a mayor and a six-member board of aldermen, two of which are chosen from each of the city's three wards. The current mayor of Green Park is Tim Thuston.^[6]

The westernmost part of Green Park is part of the 92nd District for the Missouri House of Representatives, which is represented by Michael Burton (D-Lakeshire), first elected in November 2020. The rest of it belongs to the 94th District, represented by Jim Murphy (R-St. Louis), first elected in November 2018. The whole city belongs to the 1st District for the Missouri State Senate, currently represented by Doug Beck (D-St. Louis), first elected in November 2020. It is also part of Missouri's 2nd Congressional District for the U.S. House of Representatives, which has been represented since 2013 by Ann Wagner (R-Ballwin).

Education[edit]

Green Park is part of the Mehlville R-IX School District, which serves a large part of South St. Louis County. Most students attend Mehlville High School, one of two in the district.

There is also one private Roman Catholic school, St. Simon the Apostle, which teaches kindergarten through 8th grade.^[7]

References[edit]