With Maple Lake and its forested splendor just a few miles south, the Wolf Road Prairie is equidistant north of our Cutoff. It sits, quietly hidden, just off two bustling metropolitan thoroughfares. I’ve been wanting to take a walk there for quite some time.
On Sunday afternoon, we took that walk.
Illinois is known as The Prairie State, and for good reason. 70% of Illinois was native prairie two centuries ago. Early explorers wrote of a “sea of grass” as far the eye could see. It was not uncommon for men to become lost on the prairie, whose miles of grass stood twelve feet high. Children of pioneers sometimes disappeared, never to be seen again, as the tall grasses would seem to swallow them up. The prairie was a perilous place to raise children.
Today, there is precious little native prairie left in Illinois; much of it was claimed as farmland during the great migration westward, for here lies the richest soil in the country. Bustling towns, housing developments, shopping malls, interstate highways, and the folly of man captured the rest of Illinois’ prairie. Fortunately, the Wolf Road Prairie, 80 acres of meadowlands, oak savannah, and wetland, was saved from a planned housing development, plotted for 600 homes, in the 1920’s, by the Great Depression. As we entered the prairie, we walked for a short spell on sidewalks originally laid for that development.
We parked our car at one of the two car banks, checked out the map of the terrain, and entered the trail, passing through the coolness of the oak trees. The
sidewalk abruptly ended, opening onto the prairie path. Under the sky blue canopy and the warm glow of the sun, it was easy to imagine the Potawatomi moving slowly through the big bluestem , hunting deer, gathering seeds, and fishing in the nearby creek. One could almost see the ghosts of pioneers, the ruts from their wagons forming all but hidden paths like the one we were walking, wild indigo brushing their long skirts and homespun shirts, the vast sea of grass before them and behind them for days on end.
I feel yet another reading of “LIttle House on the Prairie” coming on.
Wolf Road Prairie looks like a beautiful place. As you know, I am fond of prairies myself. I love your photos and beautiful vivid information. I remember students’ amazement when they walked among the “Big Bluestem” of our local restored prairie. They were required to identify it because it is our state grass. I think reading of A Little House on the Prairie is a good idea. I might read it myself.
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I know how fond you are, and I wish I could share this one with you, though you have so much open spaces where you live. One of the middle schools has a restored prairie and they need to identify the Big Bluestem. I can just imagine the students learning about it, then actually walking in it.
One thing that worried me a bit on our walk (I should read my worrying post again) was that there weren’t many bees and no monarchs or swallowtails. We haven’t seen them here at our house either this year.
I’m resisting the urge to read it right now, as I’ve a few others I really should get to. Maybe just one chapter.
Thank you, Janet.
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What a wonderful adventure I’ve just taken with you Penny, being led down the road to the prairies of the past. I had no idea the grasses grew so high, and that you could get lost in them. How marvellous that this strip has been saved, and by The Depression of all things. It’s an ill wind that blows no good, as the old saying goes.
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It is a little hard to imagine how big the grasses are and how dense a prairie can be. As we walked, I could really feel how powerful the prairie is. Isn’t that interesting how the Depression stopped development? There was no money to go forward with the houses, and no one with any money to buy them. That is a good quote, Juliet.
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Penny, your posts of this era make me wish I had some connection to the prairies before I met MTM. Other than reading Little House books. You make them come alive.
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That is such a nice thing to say, Andra. Thank you. Even if you haven’t experienced the prairie, I hope you get a chance sometime. They are beautiful in their way.
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How could you not love the Little House books, Penny. You have a better vision of what they represent than many of us who can only imagine! I would never have thought about the grasses being so high that children were lost! I have had a yearning to see a prairie! I never have…I’ve been to some of the big cities in Illinois, but never open land. Your description is so well done, and I’m so glad you shared your experience. It sounds like you had a grand day! 🙂 Debra
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It is one of the joys of reading that takes us to places we have never seen. Most prairies I’ve seen take us around the perimeter or on wider stoned paths. This one is right into the prairie and is truly a revelation as to what life may have been like. Tom is 6’4″. It was quite intimidating for both of us to have these plants loom almost twice as tall as he is. I do hope you can visit a prairie sometime, Debra; maybe with the girls after you read Little House on the Prairie to them.
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Another lovely post Penny, but I dont think it takes a prairie walk for you to decide to give “Little House on the Prairie” another outing. I feel you use any excuse at all. and you know that each time you will adore it…..again.
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Oh, Janice, thank you. You’re right. I don’t need a walk to read any of the Little House books. I’ve worn out at least one, maybe two, sets. A snowstorm brings “The Long Winter”. A trip up north stirs “Little House in the Big Woods”. Fall brings out “Farmer Boy”. I’m hopelessly lost on the prairie.
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Dear Penny, this past year, your postings about “The Little House” series so enthralled me that I read the books for the first time. And so, as I was reading your posting today, I kept thinking of the series. I had to smile in some contentment when I got to the end of your post and saw your own reference to the series.
I’d known about “the sea of grass” across Kansas, but I never realized that Illinois was the same. Nor did I realize that the grass was twelve feet tall–I’d always had in my mind that it was about 6 feet–and so I never ever thought about children getting lost within it. Thank you once again for sharing your knowledge and insight. Peace.
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I’m so pleased to know that the series enthralled you so, Dee. Laura and Almanzo Wilder eventually settled on a farm called Rocky Ridge Farm near Springfield, Missouri, which is where she wrote the books as well as many articles for local publications. Someday, I hope to see her home there.
Walking through this prairie really amazed me as Tom stood in it. He is 6’4″ and some of these plants were twice as tall as he is. Isn’t it amazing to think of how vast the prairies were, stretching across so much of the midwest? I idealize the prairie life, but, I know I would not have wanted to actually live it.
You are so very welcome, Dee.
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So reminiscent of the Little House books, Penny. The thought of being lost in that endless sea of tall grass is truly scary…..
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I can just imagine the terror of parents in those times, Perpetua, and of first coming upon these prairies so early on in our history here. It was humbling to walk on this path the other day.
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Isn’t it amazing what can be found so close to home? I was surprised to learn of the prairie and all you wrote. We didn’t see bees either this year-just as well for me as I am allergic to bee stings! That accounts for my inability to “garden”. The lack of bees is problematic from an agricultural point of view from what I have read. I did so enjoy the trip you and Tom took.
I think a dose of Little House is just what I need after “Anna Karenina”. LOL
Have a peaceful weekend.
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It certainly is amazing, isn’t it Marilyn? I’ve been past this prairie hundreds of times in my life and never knew it was there. Bees would certainly make it impossible to garden or even spend time around flowers. Folks around here are complaining about some of their vegetables which need the bees to pollinate. We will be reaping the harvest of this long, hot, dry summer for many years to come, I fear. Reading the Little House books helps bring it all into perspective. Ha! Are you participating in the “Anna Karenina” challenge some of the book bloggers are doing? I thought about it, for a second or two. I’m impressed that you got it read, Marilyn. Good for you.
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I’m not sure I can even imagine such wide open spaces stretching endlessly on, Penny. I must one day visit a prairie for myself.
That word fascinates me. I wonder what its origin was?
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I hope that you someday can see a prairie, Kate.
Prairie comes from the early French explorers and means meadows or meadow land.
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The whole time I was reading this lovely post, I was thinking in the back of my mind “Little House on the Prairie”….I’m so glad you were too!
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We think alike, Sallie. “Little House on the Prairie” is one of my most favorite reads, as are all of the Little House books.
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