Weldon Springs State Recreation Area
Encyclopedia
Weldon Springs State Recreation Area is a 550 acres (2.23 km²) state park
located near Clinton, Illinois
. It centers on Salt Creek
and the impoundment of a tributary, Weldon Springs, to form Weldon Spring Lake, a reservoir
. It is supervised by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
.
, once as large as the Mississippi River
. Glacial till left behind during the Ice Age
buried the valley and its bedrock bluffs below the current earth surface, but much later flows of groundwater
were forced by this buried geological feature to the surface. Weldon Springs became a wetland
with some of the northernmost bald cypress trees in Illinois.
. From 1901 until 1921, Weldon Springs - which was served by a branch line of the Illinois Central Railroad
- was a recognized stop on the Chautauqua circuit; for ten days annually, inspirational speakers and entertainers took top billing on the spring garden's outdoor amphitheatre
s. National leaders who appeared at Weldon Springs included William Jennings Bryan
, Helen Keller
, Carrie Nation
, the Rev. Billy Sunday
, and President William Howard Taft
.
With the increasing availability of personal motor vehicle
s and distribution of movies, the Chautauqua circuit collapsed in the early 1920s. The Weldon family donated the springs to the county seat of Clinton in 1936, and the parcel moved to state ownership in 1948. It is the heart of what is now Weldon Springs State Recreation Area.
built its first-generation pioneer public schools in the 1860s, one of the one-room schools was named the Union School (1865). The name signifies the side Illinois took during the American Civil War
at the time. After the Union School was consolidated about 1950, the building was moved to Weldon Springs and restored as the state park museum and visitor center.
From the Union School and parking lot, more than 7 miles (11 km) of trails fan out. Local hikers will find the largest trees in the Salt Creek bottoms, including the largest tree in the park, a silver maple
. The 1.3-mile (2.1 km) Schoolhouse Trail accesses a restored tallgrass prairie
which provides habitat for more than 30 different species of butterflies. More than 80 birdhouse
s are maintained to provide homes for bluebird
s.
The spring-fed Weldon Spring Lake is managed for largemouth bass
and channel catfish
, with panfish
also present. There is a power limit on the lake, with gasoline-powered motors not allowed.
The campgrounds and amphitheatres used during the spring complex's Chautauqua days continue in readiness for use.
. After delay, which restored funding for some of the parks, a proposal to close seven state parks and a dozen state historic sites, including Weldon Springs, went ahead on November 30, 2008. After the impeachment of Illinois Governor Blagojevich, new governor Pat Quinn
reopened the closed state parks in February.
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
located near Clinton, Illinois
Clinton, Illinois
Clinton is the largest city in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,225 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of DeWitt County.The city and the county are named for DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York, 1817-1823...
. It centers on Salt Creek
Salt Creek (Sangamon River Tributary)
Salt Creek is a major tributary to the Sangamon River, which it joins at the boundary between Mason and Menard County, Illinois. There are at least two other Salt Creeks in Illinois, Salt Creek , and in Effingham County, Illinois....
and the impoundment of a tributary, Weldon Springs, to form Weldon Spring Lake, a reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
. It is supervised by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is a cabinet-level department of the state government of Illinois. It is headquartered in the state capital of Springfield...
.
Geology and ecology
Weldon Springs is an unusual spring in the relatively flat Grande Prairie of central Illinois. The spring is a local reminder of the former presence of an immense buried river valley, the Teays RiverTeays River
The Teays River was an important preglacial river that drained much of the area now drained by the Ohio River, and more. Traces of the Teays across northern Ohio and Indiana are represented by a network of river valleys. These valleys were carved in the late Cenozoic and eventually led to the...
, once as large as the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Glacial till left behind during the Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
buried the valley and its bedrock bluffs below the current earth surface, but much later flows of groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
were forced by this buried geological feature to the surface. Weldon Springs became a wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
with some of the northernmost bald cypress trees in Illinois.
History
In the 1800s, Weldon Springs was the fishing camp of a leading local citizen, Judge Lawrence Weldon. In 1900, Judge Weldon leased the springs to the Weldon Springs Company, which raised $7,500 to redevelop the springs as a ChautauquaChautauqua
Chautauqua was an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with...
. From 1901 until 1921, Weldon Springs - which was served by a branch line of the Illinois Central Railroad
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
- was a recognized stop on the Chautauqua circuit; for ten days annually, inspirational speakers and entertainers took top billing on the spring garden's outdoor amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
s. National leaders who appeared at Weldon Springs included William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
, Helen Keller
Helen Keller
Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
, Carrie Nation
Carrie Nation
Carrie Amelia Moore Nation was a member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol in pre-Prohibition America. She is particularly noteworthy for promoting her viewpoint through vandalism. On many occasions Nation would enter an alcohol-serving establishment and attack the bar with a hatchet...
, the Rev. Billy Sunday
Billy Sunday
William Ashley "Billy" Sunday was an American athlete who, after being a popular outfielder in baseball's National League during the 1880s, became the most celebrated and influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century.Born into poverty in Iowa, Sunday spent some...
, and President William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
.
With the increasing availability of personal motor vehicle
Motor vehicle
A motor vehicle or road vehicle is a self-propelled wheeled vehicle that does not operate on rails, such as trains or trolleys. The vehicle propulsion is provided by an engine or motor, usually by an internal combustion engine, or an electric motor, or some combination of the two, such as hybrid...
s and distribution of movies, the Chautauqua circuit collapsed in the early 1920s. The Weldon family donated the springs to the county seat of Clinton in 1936, and the parcel moved to state ownership in 1948. It is the heart of what is now Weldon Springs State Recreation Area.
Today
When nearby Logan County, IllinoisLogan County, Illinois
Logan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 30,305, which is a decrease of 2.8% from 31,183 in 2000...
built its first-generation pioneer public schools in the 1860s, one of the one-room schools was named the Union School (1865). The name signifies the side Illinois took during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
at the time. After the Union School was consolidated about 1950, the building was moved to Weldon Springs and restored as the state park museum and visitor center.
From the Union School and parking lot, more than 7 miles (11 km) of trails fan out. Local hikers will find the largest trees in the Salt Creek bottoms, including the largest tree in the park, a silver maple
Silver Maple
The silver maple —also called creek maple, river maple, silverleaf maple, soft maple, water maple, or white maple—is a species of maple native to eastern North America in the eastern United States and Canada...
. The 1.3-mile (2.1 km) Schoolhouse Trail accesses a restored tallgrass prairie
Tallgrass prairie
The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America, with fire as its primary periodic disturbance. In the past, tallgrass prairies covered a large portion of the American Midwest, just east of the Great Plains, and portions of the Canadian Prairies. They flourished in areas with...
which provides habitat for more than 30 different species of butterflies. More than 80 birdhouse
Birdhouse
Birdhouse may refer to:* Nest box, an artificial nest for birds* Birdhouse Skateboards* "Birdhouse in Your Soul", a song by They Might Be Giants* Birdhouse...
s are maintained to provide homes for bluebird
Bluebird
The bluebirds are a group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Sialia of the thrush family . Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. They have blue, or blue and red, plumage...
s.
The spring-fed Weldon Spring Lake is managed for largemouth bass
Largemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
and channel catfish
Channel catfish
Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States they are the most fished catfish species with approximately 8...
, with panfish
Panfish
A panfish, also spelled pan-fish or pan fish, is an edible game fish that usually doesn't outgrow the size of a frying pan. The term is also commonly used by anglers to refer to any small catch that will fit in a pan, but is large enough to be legal. However its definition and usage varies with...
also present. There is a power limit on the lake, with gasoline-powered motors not allowed.
The campgrounds and amphitheatres used during the spring complex's Chautauqua days continue in readiness for use.
2008 closing
Weldon Springs State Recreation Area was one of eleven state parks slated to close indefinitely on November 1, 2008 due to budget cuts by then-Illinois Governor Rod BlagojevichRod Blagojevich
Rod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...
. After delay, which restored funding for some of the parks, a proposal to close seven state parks and a dozen state historic sites, including Weldon Springs, went ahead on November 30, 2008. After the impeachment of Illinois Governor Blagojevich, new governor Pat Quinn
Pat Quinn (politician)
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Quinn III is the 41st and current Governor of Illinois. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Previously elected three times to statewide office, Quinn was the sitting lieutenant governor and became governor on January 29, 2009, when the previous governor, Rod Blagojevich,...
reopened the closed state parks in February.