Stephens Lake Park is a park located in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

. Today it serves as an

arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

with a lake, and a park spanning 116 acres. It is often used as a live music venue with the

Roots N Blues Festival The Treeline Music Festival, previously known as the Roots N Blues Festival and Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival, is an annual music festival that takes place in Stephens Lake Park in Columbia, Missouri. The festival features international, national, r ...

taking place here every year. In the early 1800s the

David Gordon House and Collins Log Cabin The David Gordon House and Collins Log Cabin were two historic homes located at Columbia, Missouri. The David Gordon House is a two-story, frame I-house. The 13-room structure incorporated original construction from about 1823 and several addi ...

were built upon the land. A century later

Stephens College Stephens College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Timeline of women's colleges in the United States#First and oldest, the second-oldest women's educa ...

purchased the land from the Gordon family. During the start of the 21st century, the city purchased the land and opened it to the public.

History

In the early 19th century, Captain David Gordon, a wealthy farmer from

Madison County, Kentucky Madison County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. At the 2020 census, its population was 92,701. Its county seat is Richmond. The county is named for Virginia statesman James Madison, who later became the f ...

, moved his family and his slaves to the land due to debates over slavery. In 1818, Gordon built a cabin on the area that would become the park. In 1823, The David Gordon House were built using

slave labor Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. After construction of the manor was complete, the Gordons turned their cabin into

slave quarters Slave quarters were buildings or districts where enslaved people were housed. Slave quarters may refer to: * Barracoon, temporary holding quarters for the transatlantic slave trade * , housing for enslaved people in colonial Brazil Colonial Bra ...

. David Gordon died on January 18, 1849 David. According to journalist Walter Williams, by the time of his death he was one of the richest men in Boone county. The area was owned by the Gordon family for over a century. Then in 1926, the family sold the land to

. In 1999, allegedly the college was going to sell the land to private developers for $10 million. This caused outrage among community. Near the end of the year someone purposely set the David Gordon House on fire. In 2001 the city of Columbia purchased the area the same year the park was opened to the public. An

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

in the park was opened on June 26, 2010. The park contains a marker of the historic location of Sherman's Dam.

Discovery Garden

The northern section of the park contains a garden called Darwin and Axie Hindman Discovery Garden, it was built to honor Darwin Hindman and Axie Hindman.

Wildlife

'' Enchenopa binotata'' have been found at the park. According to the

Missouri Department of Conservation The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Conservation Commission were created by Article IV Sections 40-42 of the Missouri Constitution, which were adopted by the voters of the state in 1936 as Amendment 4 to the constitut ...

; Stephens lake contains species like

Black Bass Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psy ...

Catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

, and

Bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or, in Texas, "copper nose", is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands ea ...

Concerts

The

is held annually in the park. According to Concert Archives, eight concerts have taken place at the park. Musicians like Dale Watson and

Alejandro Escovedo Pedro Alejandro Escovedo (born January 10, 1951) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, includin ...

performed concerts at the park in 2013.

Amos Lee Amos Lee (born Ryan Anthony Massaro, June 22, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter whose musical style encompasses folk music, folk, rock music, rock, and Soul music, soul. Lee has recorded five albums on Blue Note Records and has toured as ...

and

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Cash. Although Cash is often classified as a country artist, her music draws f ...

performed a concert in 2014.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Citation , last=Williams , first=Walter , title=A History of Northeast Missouri , date=1913 , author-link=Walter Williams (journalist) Parks in Columbia, Missouri 2001 establishments in Missouri Parks established in the 2000s Protected areas established in 2001 Parks in Boone County, Missouri