Our Story

History of Spring Lake Nature Park

Spring Lake Ice Chutes in 1920	Spring Lake, circa 1900
Spring Lake Park is named for a large spring-fed lake that once provided swimming, boating, ice skating, and other recreation for area residents.  In the late 1800’s, a dam was constructed to maintain the level of the lake to provide water for ice production.  Large blocks of ice were used for individual and commercial “ice boxes” before electric refrigerators were invented. Once ice was no longer needed, the dam was destroyed, leaving the meandering streams and falls area that we see today.   Longtime Streator resident Mabel O’Hara recalls the early days of the park: I go back to when there really was a lake there and swam there many times.   I also remember the cutting of the ice in the winter and the big ice house where it was stored with a lot of straw around the chunks to slow the thawing.   Also, the winter when the lake was to be emptied, the dam was dynamited and there were fish all over the place in shallow water.  I happened to have hiked there that day with others and we all went home with our pockets full of fish!! My Minnesota grandparents were visiting at the time and my grandfather never got over telling of my coming into the kitchen excitedly telling of what was going on and pulling out fish after fish as I spoke.   The creek was still very nice when my children were little and we paddled and swam there many times.   Spring Lake, circa 1900   In 1963, through the efforts of Senator Fred Hart, the State of Illinois gave the land to the City of Streator to be used as a natural recreation area.

Spring Lake Project
 

For forty years, local resident Dale Irons cared for Spring Lake Park. In the spring of 2007, a group of volunteers formed the Spring Lake Project to help Dale and the city maintain the park for use by the public. The Spring Lake Project was incorporated in 2007 as a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit corporation. It uses volunteer professional consultants in the areas of education, historical research, parks management, natural lands restoration, engineering, and construction to aid in park development. Volunteers have cleared brush, removed trash, constructed a parking lot, installed posts around the parking lot, repaired damaged trails, and built a pedestrian bridge.

 

Volunteers Constructing Pedestrian Bridge, Summer 2007

To keep this beautiful natural land available to the public as a safe recreation area, the Spring Lake Project volunteers participate in a host program acting as park interpreters and assuring that city ordinances are observed.

 

The Spring Lake Project Continues
SPRING LAKE RESTORATION WINS GOVERNOR'S HOMETOWN AWARD!		NEW RAMP AT SPRING LAKE PARK
Times Photo (Sally Sullivan reads The Times with her 3-year-old dog Chelsea at Spring Lake Park. Sally is a Spring Lake Project volunteer and spends two hours a week at the park to help visitors and remind them of the rules.)
Spring Lake Project has been awarded the Governor's Home Town Award in recognition of the park's restoration and the efforts of over 250 volunteers who have donated money, materials, equipment, and labor.  City officials, tourism staff, and Spring Lake Project volunteers accepted the award at a banquet in Springfield.  The city was given a commemorative plaque and a road sign to recognize the award.		Thanks to the Ramp Builders, park visitors who would otherwise have difficulty negotiating the stairs to the bridge can now cross by way of long, gradually sloping ramps. The Ramp Builders are a group of local volunteers who build ramps primarily for individuals and health care facilities.  They rely entirely on donations for purchasing materials to build their ramps. Spring Lake Park is indebted to them for their generous contribution.