Precolonial history The
Osage Nation hunted in this area.
After colonization The park was the mid-19th century homestead of the Johnston family,
Scotch-Irish immigrants who had moved west from the
Appalachian region. There is a Johnston cemetery on the grounds, where 36 members of the family are buried (the "t" was later dropped from the name). When the Johnston family sold the land three generations later, most of it was purchased by Joseph Desloge (1889–1971), a St. Louis civic leader and conservationist. Desloge assembled most of the park, including the shut-ins and two miles of river frontage, over a period of 17 years, then donated it to the state in 1955. The
Desloge lead mining family continued over the years to donate funds for park improvements.
2005 reservoir failure and flood On December 14, 2005, the park was devastated by a catastrophic flood caused by the failure of the
Taum Sauk pumped storage plant reservoir atop a neighboring mountain. Damage included eradication of the park's campground, which was unoccupied at the time. The only people at the park were the park's superintendent and his family, who survived, sustaining some injuries. The park was closed because of the extent of the damage it received. The park partly reopened in the summer of 2006 for limited day use, but due to dangerous conditions, swimming in the river and exploring the rock formations was prohibited. In 2009, the river and shut-ins were reopened for water recreation. A new campground opened in 2010. Park restoration and improvements were funded with $52 million of a $180 million settlement to the state from
AmerenUE, the owner and operator of the failed reservoir.
2009 derecho Some areas of forest in the park and the surrounding region were severely damaged by the
May 2009 derecho windstorm. Straight-line wind speeds in this part of Reynolds County reached with
microbursts estimated up to . ==Activities and amenities==