Times Beach, Missouri

Times Beach
Times Beach Bridge in 2022
Times Beach
Location in Missouri
Times Beach
Times Beach (the United States)
Coordinates: 38°30′31″N 90°36′09″W / 38.50861°N 90.60250°W / 38.50861; -90.60250
CountryUnited States
StateMissouri
CountySt. Louis
Founded1925
Dis-incorporated1985
Elevation
436 ft (133 m)
Postal code
63025

Times Beach is a ghost town in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States, 17 miles (27 km) southwest of St. Louis and 2 miles (3 km) east of Eureka. Once home to more than two thousand people, the town was completely evacuated in early 1983 due to TCDD (a type of dioxin) contamination, formerly the largest civilian exposure to the compound in the history of the United States.

In 1985, the State of Missouri officially disincorporated the city of Times Beach. The site of Times Beach now houses a 419-acre (170 ha) state park which opened in 1999. The park commemorates U.S. Route 66 (US 66), as well as the history of the Times Beach area. The famous US 66 that stretched from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California passed through the community on its southern end. In 2001, the EPA removed Times Beach from its Superfund list.