Agencies
Services
Nature Preserve Area
1
County
Winnebago
Location And Access
From Rockford at jct. Bus. Hwy. 20 (West State Street) & Central Avenue, take Central Avenue north 1.8 mi. to Searls Memorial Park. The nature preserve is in the south part of the park and is west of Central Avenue.
Description
Searls Park Prairie is a significant black-soil prairie within Searls Memorial Park in northwest Rockford. It contains wet and wet-mesic prairie representative of the Rock River Hill Country Natural Division. Originally, this park was a 230 acre farmstead owned by the Searls family who settled in Winnebago County during the 1850's. In 1944, Emily J. Searls donated the land to the Rockford Park District. Mesic prairie is the main natural community in the preserve. Dominant grasses are prairie dropseed, Indian grass, and little bluestem. The wet prairie is dominated by tussock sedge, blue-joint grass, and cord grass. The preserve is on two topos; Rockford North and Winnebago
Ownership
Rockford Park District
Dedicated
April 1984
Size
129 acres with buffer
Topographic Quad
Rockford North
Topo Map
For Further Information
Rockford Park District, 1401 N. 2nd Street, Rockford, IL 61107 (815/987-8800)
1/2009 - R. Heidorn