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Searls Park Prairie

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

searls park

Google Maps

For Further Information

Rockford Park District, 1401 N. 2nd Street, Rockford, IL 61107 (815/987-8800)

1/2009 - R. Heidorn