Florissant, Missouri

French settlers first arrived in the Florissant area during the 1760's and declared it "un val fleurissant," which means "flowering valley." But it was the Spanish who set up the first civil government and laid out the grid of streets now known as Old Town in 1786. The Spanish called it "San Fernando," which was anglicized to St. Ferdinand. The locals, however, called it Florissant or Valley of the Flowers, which caused much confusion until the name was officially changed to Florissant in 1939.

Before European settlement, the area was prairie and open parklike forest that was maintained by Native Americans via burning. Stepping forward to today, many people especially enjoy Florissant in Autumn because of the changing color of the trees because St. Louis County, the greater home of Florissant, has the most recorded native species of plants in the state. Most of the timber in the area was harvested by the 1920s, but the region still abounds with oak, maple, and hickory trees, similar to the forests of the Ozarks. Common understory trees include Eastern Redbud, Serviceberry, Flowering Dogwood, American sycamore and Easter red cedar. The forests and trees of Florissant are enjoyable sights to both visitors and residents of this beautiful region alike.