In April 1969, St. Louis County accepted a gift of 37.4 acres from Winter Brothers Material Company and a lease of 13.12 additional acres for $1.00 per year, beginning George Winter County Park, which today consists of 159.73 acres. Water is the park’s key attraction, with the Meramec River, Winter Lake, Fenton Creek, and a small spring creating diverse aquatic environments. Winter Lake was created by dredging sand and gravel from the Meramec River and for many years hosted the annual Concord Village Lions Club Boat Race, but over time the lake has begun to fill in, making some boating activities no longer possible. The park now has two picnic shelters, one river overlook pavilion, two boat ramps, and 0.3 miles of paved trail. The origin of the name Meramec is uncertain, with meanings variously given as “water of the bitter spring,” “waters of death,” “catfish,” or a link to two early traders, Mary and Mack, who lived on its banks. Although the park lies nine miles above the Meramec’s meeting with the Mississippi River, the Mississippi still affects it, and during the Great Flood of 1993 backed up into the Meramec and flooded the entire park for weeks, closing Allen Road and putting more than two feet of water into the maintenance building. A small spring at the base of a large hill enters the Meramec upstream of the boat ramps, recalling how springs supplied early settlers with fresh water and a means of refrigeration through spring houses. Fenton Creek also passes through part of the park on its way to the Meramec, and during spring high water fish move up the creek; a sediment basin there offers a place to look for signs of muskrat or beaver. Winter Lake attracts fishermen seeking white bass, crappie, channel catfish, bluegill, largemouth bass, and paddlefish. The paddlefish, sometimes called the spoonbill catfish, can weigh more than 100 pounds and reach nearly six feet long; it eats plankton, has cartilage instead of bones, and is caught only by snagging because it is not attracted to baits or lures. Geese and ducks stop at Winter Lake during spring and autumn migrations, including mallards, wood ducks, gadwall, widgeon, and teal, while grebes and mergansers dive beneath the surface to feed. Bald eagles, absent as nesting birds anywhere in Missouri from 1932 to 1982, are now returning, and one of the two known active nests on the Lower Meramec is near Winter Lake, where the birds gather in winter near open water to feed. The park also includes wetlands, with saturated soils or surface water, hydric soils, and hydrology that support specialized plant life and wildlife habitat, help recharge groundwater, absorb storm water, reduce flooding, provide recreation, and filter toxins and agricultural fertilizers, absorbing as much as 90% of dissolved nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Missouri has lost 95% of its original wetlands. A 0.3 mile paved trail now runs through the north end of the park, connecting with trails to Old Towne Fenton and Fenton City Park, ending at Unger County Park four miles to the north, and additional trails are planned to link it with Jefferson County’s Winter Park downstream.