Maeystown

Location

Aug 17

Nestled away in Southern Illinois sits the old German town of Maeystown. Founded in 1852, this beautiful, small town offers old stone buildings, wooden sheds, brick buildings, a lovely creek, and an old stone bridge. Maeystown is the perfect location if you’re looking for a different location than the rest of your classmates all while offering an old, German town feel.

Check out my list of the top senior picture locations in St. Louis, MO to get inspired by more locations to have your senior pictures taken.

The Best Part About Maeystown

From creek side to storefront, Maeystown offers a variety of beautiful backgrounds for your senior pictures. Many of the buildings are made from stone, or have an older style to them. These buildings are great for leaning on or sitting next to, and some businesses even have seating arrangements outside, like a swinging chair. There’s an old stone church where you can stand in the doorway or sit on the steps. Along the sidewalks there are even old, stone retaining walls that make for neat backgrounds.

The town also sits on a hillside which makes for great and different perspectives for your portraits. It’s a quiet town with virtually no hustle and bustle, so you can stand in the roadway for a few portraits too. Just down the street is the old, stone bridge which makes for a unique background. You can stand in the creek or sit in the grass with the bridge in the background.

The creek is perfect for kicking your feet around in the water as well. Follow it down a bit further and there’s a perfect spot where you can sit on some old stone steps or stand or sit in the grass with rock as your background, along with the creek.

What to Expect Each Season

Spring

The weather is still cooler out and the creek might be a bit colder than you’d like to stand in, but the trees and grass are starting to bloom again. There aren’t many flowers around the area except for those planted by locals. Some of the flowers that are blooming are planted down beautiful stone path alleyways.

Summer

Summer is the perfect time of year to take creek portraits down by the stone bridge. You’ll be able to cool off, kick your feet around, and walk away with stunning portraits. Everything is also green at this time of year including a large tree with ivy growing up the side of it. You can even grab an ice cream from Corner George Inn Sweet Shoppe to cool off and take some fun ice cream portraits.

Fall

The open field is the perfect spot to find fallen leaves on the ground, but the town in general has trees surrounding the area just waiting to turn to beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows. Leaves will decorate the creek to give you that pop of warm, fall colors down by the stone bridge. The hillside is also covered in trees and makes for the ultimate fall backdrop.

Winter

There’s not much in Maeystown during the winter, but this small town is beautiful blanketed by snow. Head down by the stone bridge for some beautiful, snow filled creek portraits or twirl around in the snow in the open grass. This town would make for awesome faux fur coat or vintage winter portraits.

Pricing and Accommodations

Maeystown is quiet and free to park. You can walk the streets 24/7. The only things that cost and will close are the local shops. This is a fully functioning town with many buildings being residential or commercial, so there are no public bathrooms.