Education Day at Lacey-Keosauqua State Park
by Ann Bennett, FOS President
A total of 26 people met at the Lacey-Keosauqua Park Lodge on April 1st to enjoy an educational walking tour along the Des Moines River in Lacey-Keosauqua State Park and/or a Friends Group Meeting. The Friends of Shimek, with the cooperation of Friends of Lacey, hosted the Education Day. DNR Southeast Area Parks Supervisor Tom Basten hosted a Southeast Iowa Friends Groups Meeting following the walking tour.
Participants learned about the development of Lacey-Keosauqua State Park. It is one of Iowa's largest and most picturesque parks with 1,653 acres of hills, bluffs and valley along the Des Moines River in Van Buren County. The Park Lodge was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) and originally was the club house for a golf course. There is a new memorial bronze sculpture of a CCC worker at the original park entrance. The Friends of Lacey funded the renovation of the 1935 Gatehouse and the new CCC Memorial. The golf course proved too difficult to maintain due to the hilly terrain so now the Park Lodge can be rented for weddings, family reunions and anniversaries.
Lacey-Keosauqua State Park was established in 1921 and was the second park established in Iowa. Backbone State Park was first, established in 1920. The first national conference about parks was hosted in Des Moines due to Iowa's leadership in establishing parks.
The park is named after Major John Fletcher Lacey who fought in the Civil War and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1868 and to Congress in 1888. He campaigned for conservation legislation and was instrumental in establishing a state park system in Iowa.
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| The hikers--Friends of Shimek and Friends of Lacey--are shown at Ely Ford. |
Lacey-Keosauqua State Park was established in 1921 and was the second park established in Iowa. Backbone State Park was first, established in 1920. The first national conference about parks was hosted in Des Moines due to Iowa's leadership in establishing parks.
The park is named after Major John Fletcher Lacey who fought in the Civil War and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1868 and to Congress in 1888. He campaigned for conservation legislation and was instrumental in establishing a state park system in Iowa.
Park Technician Justin Lynton and Park Manager Justin Pedretti guided a walk along the Des Moines River to Ely Ford used as a crossing before roads were established and near where the Mormon Pioneer Trail crossed the river.
This photo shows members of the group crossing a footbridge along the trail.
Shimek State Forester John Byrd identified trees along the way and talked about forest management. He talked about the difference between the Parks mission for recreation and the Forest mission for timber management. There is a 918 acre Keosauqua Unit of Shimek State Forest adjoining the west side of Lacey-Keosauqua State Park. There are several miles of hiking and snowmobile trails in it. John mentioned that there are 4 agencies that co-operate with each other in this area - Shimek State Forest, Lacey-Keosauqua State Park, Lake Sugema Wildlife Management Area and the Van Buren County Conservation Board.
After the hike, the DNR Southeast Area Parks Supervisor, Tom Basten, hosted a Southeast Iowa Friends Group Meeting to discuss the Parks 2020 initiative which will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Iowa Parks. Retired Parks Bureau Chief Kevin Szcodronski is leading the Parks 2020, planning and enlisting help from the Friends Groups. The years 2017 and 2018 are designated for fund raising, 2019 is "sprucing up" the parks, and 2020 is celebrate. The current Parks Bureau Chief Todd Coffelt attended and encouraged participation by the local communities in partnership with the local parks to celebrate the outdoors in some way during 2020. There is not a boiler plate for the celebration as each park is unique. Representatives of four Friends Groups attended: Lacey-Keosauqua, Lake Darling, Rock Creek, and Shimek Forest. (The Shimek Forest campgrounds are managed by the Parks Bureau while the trails are managed by the Bureau of Forestry.) For info on the Iowa Parks Foundation, see http://www.iaparks.org/
The river was eroding the outside bend and eating into the banks so that a monument marking Ely Ford and some big sycamore trees would end up in the river. A big riprap project was constructed using concrete from the old Douds bridge, then finished with quarry rock funded by Friends of Lacey. Federal flood relief programs would not repair the damage since no measures had been taken before to stop the erosion.
This area on the Des Moines River also set the scene for the “Honey War “---which was an argument between Missouri and Iowa over the location of the border that began with surveying errors in the 1830's and ended in 1839 with some cut honey trees, attempts to collect taxes, and threats by militia from both sides. The actual boundary between the states was surveyed and marked in 1851 and again in 1896. Some of the stone markers can still be found along the IA-MO border.
This area on the Des Moines River also set the scene for the “Honey War “---which was an argument between Missouri and Iowa over the location of the border that began with surveying errors in the 1830's and ended in 1839 with some cut honey trees, attempts to collect taxes, and threats by militia from both sides. The actual boundary between the states was surveyed and marked in 1851 and again in 1896. Some of the stone markers can still be found along the IA-MO border.
There are several Indian Mounds protected within the park boundaries and the Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA) has examined human remains exposed by weathering which were then re-interred in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Descendants of the Ioway tribe have examined other artifacts within the park and believe they represent the late Woodland Culture around A.D. 1000.
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| This photo shows just how beautiful the bluebells are on the Bluebell Hill at Ely Ford. |
Several people noticed garlic mustard, an invasive weed that is difficult to control, overtaking the bluebells on Bluebell Hill. A few days after the hike, volunteers began hand weeding since chemical control would also harm the bluebells and other wildflowers.
Shimek State Forester John Byrd identified trees along the way and talked about forest management. He talked about the difference between the Parks mission for recreation and the Forest mission for timber management. There is a 918 acre Keosauqua Unit of Shimek State Forest adjoining the west side of Lacey-Keosauqua State Park. There are several miles of hiking and snowmobile trails in it. John mentioned that there are 4 agencies that co-operate with each other in this area - Shimek State Forest, Lacey-Keosauqua State Park, Lake Sugema Wildlife Management Area and the Van Buren County Conservation Board.
John Byrd (in orange) is shown with Bob and Marsha Achenbach along the trail.
After the hike, the DNR Southeast Area Parks Supervisor, Tom Basten, hosted a Southeast Iowa Friends Group Meeting to discuss the Parks 2020 initiative which will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Iowa Parks. Retired Parks Bureau Chief Kevin Szcodronski is leading the Parks 2020, planning and enlisting help from the Friends Groups. The years 2017 and 2018 are designated for fund raising, 2019 is "sprucing up" the parks, and 2020 is celebrate. The current Parks Bureau Chief Todd Coffelt attended and encouraged participation by the local communities in partnership with the local parks to celebrate the outdoors in some way during 2020. There is not a boiler plate for the celebration as each park is unique. Representatives of four Friends Groups attended: Lacey-Keosauqua, Lake Darling, Rock Creek, and Shimek Forest. (The Shimek Forest campgrounds are managed by the Parks Bureau while the trails are managed by the Bureau of Forestry.) For info on the Iowa Parks Foundation, see http://www.iaparks.org/
Tom Basten (left) and Todd Coffelt pause at Ely Ford before the Friends Group Meeting.
Addendum: Interested in the “Honey War” between MO and IA? Here is an entertaining article about it: http://iagenweb.org/history/moi/moi25.htm
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