RED CEDAR INN
HISTORY
A Timeline of the Meramec Valley
The Meramec Valley has a rich history, including critical developments along the Meramec River, the emergence of the railroad through the area, and the rise of Route 66. Below is a timeline of some of the key moments in our local history.
700 BCE – Osage and Tamaroa tribes settled near the Meramec River Valley.
1670s – Initial contact with the Osage tribes is established by French fur traders, or “coureurs des bois.”
1820 – The first wood cabin is constructed in what would be called the City of Pacific.
1849 – The Railroad Convention is hosted in St. Louis and creates the Pacific Railroad.
1853 – The Pacific Railroad lays track through the town of Franklin.
1855 – First School in the area is opened.
1859 – The town is renamed Pacific from Franklin in honor of the railroad.
1860 – A post office in Catawissa is opened.
1864 – The Battle of Franklin (Pacific) is fought.
1871 – The Pacific Railroad closes and becomes the Frisco and Missouri Pacific. The last strongholds of the Osage tribes are taken over by the United States and they are forced to relocate.
1878 – The first school for black children, the B.F. Allen School, is opened in Pacific.
1934 – The Red Cedar Inn is built.
1950s – The Meramec River Valley schools are desegregated.
1961 – Rail service from Pacific to Saint Louis is discontinued.
1965 – Interstate 44 is opened.
1970 – The Meramec Valley R-III school district is created.
1971 – The Missouri Pacific is reorganized into the Union Pacific.
1978 – The Pacific Depot is torn down.
1985 – Route 66 is officially decommissioned.
2003 – The Red Cedar Inn is added to the National Register of Historic Places.
2023 – The Red Cedar Inn Museum and Visitor Center opens to the public.
