Ozarks (Lead Belt)
Park Hills is a four-town merger in the Lead Belt
Park Hills was formed from Flat River, Elvins, Esther, and Rivermines, which makes the city name a clue to St. Francois County's mining-town geography.
Park Hills is not just a modern city name. The city says it was formed through a four-way merger of Flat River, Elvins, Esther, and Rivermines after a Missouri legislative action in 1994.
That is useful local color because it explains why older maps, family stories, school names, and mine references may use names that do not look like today’s municipal map.
For St. Francois County, Park Hills carries the Lead Belt’s town-merger geography in plain sight.
It also explains why one city can carry several neighborhood identities at once.
That is useful for readers sorting older records, school memories, mine references, or family stories that use pre-merger place names.
Where to see it
- City of Park Hills
Use the city source for the Flat River, Elvins, Esther, and Rivermines merger context.
References
More from St. Francois County: browse every local note for the county.
Last checked against the sources above: July 16, 2026.