Roadside Attractions near Don Robinson State Park: Black Madonna Shrine and Rockford Beach

Near Don Robinson State Park, you can visit the Black Madonna Shrine, famous for its colorful rock sculptures.

Rockford Beach along the Big River is located nearby and is perfect for a short walk or a picnic.

HISTORY OF THE BLACK MADONNA SHRINE

In 1927, John J. Glennon, Archbishop of St. Louis, requested that a group of Franciscans come from Poland to establish a nursing home in the countryside.

A number of Franciscan Missionary Brothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus emigrated from Poland to the St. Louis area.

Brother Bronislaus Luszcz, who was thirty-four years old, was among them. The group received an abandoned convent in the Ozark foothills and built an infirmary there.

The brothers had a small farm that produced food for the infirmary and the brothers. The Black Madonna Shrine is adjacent to the site of the infirmary, which closed in 2008.

Chapel Constructed

In 1937, Brother Bronislaus started clearing the dense woods, built a cedar chapel, and placed a portrait of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa above the altar. The image is called the Black Madonna because of its dark brown skin tones.

The chapel quickly became a center for religious devotion, attracting pilgrimages, prayer services, and masses. There is also a picnic pavilion on the grounds.

The Black Madonna Shrine was built in his devotion to Mary and dedicated to her as “Queen of Peace and Mercy”.

*Hand made cross in front of the grottos*

Grottoes Built

After completing the chapel, Brother Bronislaus began building grottoes, using concrete and native Missouri tiff rock acquired from the nearby mining town of Potosi.

The stone and rock structures are made to resemble natural cave formations. The grottos feature statues of Saint Francis, Saint Joseph, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Jesus and the disciples at Gethsemane, Our Lady of Sorrows, Mary’s Assumption, and the Nativity.

Each is an intricate mosaic with seashells, costume jewelry, ceramic figurines, and colorful bits brought to him by pilgrims from time to time. Cake pans shaped like lambs and rabbits became molds for the concrete animals that sit at the feet of St. Francis.

The altar stone at the Our Lady of Sorrows Grotto is from the original monastery chapel. The Crucifix of the Gethsemane Grotto serves as a landmark for local hikers navigating the nearby woods.

Brother Bronislaus spent twenty-three years building the shrine and died from heat stroke in 1960 at the age of sixty-six, while working on a grotto of Our Lady of Fatima.

**Inside the outdoor chapel, which includes paintings, a small museum that displays the tools used and other artifacts, and a gift shop.**

Shrine Faced Arson

The shrine has faced arson and vandalism several times over the years.

In 1958, an arsonist set fire to the altar, destroying the chapel. An open-air chapel was built in the early 1960s to replace it.

Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, Primate of Poland, donated a painting to replace one lost in the fire.

Information from Wikipedia

GROTTO TOUR

The Assumption Grotto Shows the Assumption of Mary Into Heaven

To the left is the Crucifixion Overlook

Our Lady of Sorrows Grotto

Gethesmene Grotto

Grotto Peter, James, and John

Our Lady of Perepetual Help Grotto

St. Francis Grotto

NOTE: Restrooms are located on the east side of the chapel in a separate building. St. Joseph Grotto is the main photo on the blog.

DETAILS

Directions: Take Interstate 44 out of St. Louis and exit at 264. Head south on Highway 109 from I-44 in Eureka, then take Highway FF to Highway F. Turn left onto Highway F, look for the sign for the Grotto on the right, and go down St. Josephs Hill Road. The Grotto is on the left, up a hill.

Hours: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Daily

Address: 100 St Josephs Hill Rd, Pacific, MO 63069

Rockford Beach Park

Also nearby is Rockford Beach Park, a good place for a short walk and a picnic on the shore of Big River.

Although not good for swimming, the rapids form over a low-water dam here. The undertow in the rapids has caused fatalities in the past.

Still, it is a scenic place to stop, walk around, and maybe fish.

For boating, you may access the Big River by the concrete boat ramp on the upstream side of the dam.

NOTE: SWIMMING OR WADING IS NOT RECOMMENDED!

DETAILS

Drive: Take Interstate 270 to exit 3 for Missouri Highway 30 and go southwest. Make a right onto Missouri Highway W and look for the entrance road on the right after crossing the Big River.

If you went to Don Robinson State Park, don’t turn to cross Big River in Byrnesville, but stay on this road until it ends at Missouri Highway W. Make a right onto this road and look for the park entrance road on the left before crossing Big River. From there, take a left onto Highway W, then a left back onto Missouri Highway 30 to St. Louis.

Hours: 7 a.m. – 9 p.m., Daily

Address: Rockford Beach, House Springs, MO 63051