Agencies
Services
Nature Preserve Area
9
County
Massac
Location And Access
It is along the Ohio River, 3 mi. northwest of Metropolis. From the jct. of Hwy. 45 and Joppa Road, go southeast on Hwy. 45 0.4 mi. to gravel road, then turn and go south 1 mi. The nature preserve is west of the road. Special Note: Advise the guard at the Cook Coal Terminal before entering. You will have to walk from the gate just past the cemetery.
Description
Halesia Nature Preserve is a 15 acre tract with wet-mesic floodplain forest, mesic upland forest and dry-mesic upland forest representative of the Bottomland Section of the Coastal Plain Natural Division. The area is part of a high terrace or ancient lake bed along the Ohio River which has been eroded to form a system of ridges and ravines. The preserve itself is mostly forested, with the dominant upland trees being oak, hickory, blackberry and an occasional Kentucky coffee tree. The floodplain forest is of silver maple and pecan. This site is home for one of the best stands of silverbell trees in Illinois. Halesia was the first preserve dedicated by a commercial corporation, American Electric Power Company.
Ownership
American Electric Power Company
Dedicated
January 1975
Size
14.7 acres
Topographic Quad
Joppa
Topo Map
For Further Information
American Electric Power Company, Box 428, Metropolis, IL 62960 (618/524-2637)