Matthiessen State Park is an

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

state park located a few miles south of the more famous

Starved Rock State Park Starved Rock State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Illinois, characterized by the many canyons within its . Located just southeast of the village of Utica, in Deer Park Township, LaSalle County, Illinois, along the south bank of th ...

. The main entrances to both parks are located on Illinois State Route 178.

History

Home of Frederick William Matthiessen at Deer Park, IL

The park is near Oglesby, in

LaSalle County LaSalle County is located within the Fox Valley and Illinois River Valley regions of the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 Census, it had a population of 109,658. Its county seat and largest city is Ottawa. LaSalle County is part of the O ...

, United States. It is named for

Frederick William Matthiessen Frederick William Matthiessen (March 5, 1835 – February 11, 1918) was a philanthropist, industrialist, and former mayor of LaSalle, IL. He was instrumental in the creation of Matthiessen State Park. Matthiessen was the paternal grandfather ...

, who had originally owned the of property that is at the core of the current park. Two mansions, several cottages, a garage, and a private fire station were built here by Matthiessen for his family. It was an estate that hosted a private park known as "Deer Park". The park was donated to Illinois by Matthiessen's heirs, following his death in 1918, and was renamed in his honor in 1943. Since then, land was added, growing the park to . The last building of the former estate was destroyed in 1981, although some of the concrete stairs leading into the canyon are of the original construction.

Geology

The park is centered on a stream that flows from Matthiessen Lake to the Vermilion River. The stream has eroded partway through the sandstone layers, leaving interesting rock formations and drops. The Upper Dells begin at Matthiessen Lake with the Lake Falls, which drop into the canyon below, and continue downstream to the Cascade Falls where the Lower Dells begin. The interesting coloration of many of the canyons is the result of minerals in the groundwater. Many mineral springs exist throughout the park, providing

salt lick A mineral lick (also known as a salt lick) is a place where animals can go to lick essential mineral nutrients from a deposit of salts and other minerals. Mineral licks can be naturally occurring or artificial (such as blocks of salt that farm ...

spots for the large deer population.

Flora and fauna

Flora

The cool and damp canyons provide an ideal habitat for many species of

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ...

es,

liverworts The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of g ...

, and

ferns A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

. On top of the bluffs that form the canyons can be found

black oak Black Oak may refer to: Places in the United States * Black Oak, Arkansas * Black Oak, Daviess County, Indiana * Black Oak, Lake County, Indiana, a neighborhood of Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The ...

(''Quercus velutina''), red cedar (''Juniperus virginiana''), and

white oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ' ...

(''Quercus alba'') trees, which thrive in the sandy soil. The park contains several species generally found farther north, such as the

Canada yew ''Taxus canadensis'', the Canada yew or Canadian yew, is a conifer native to central and eastern North America, thriving in swampy woods, ravines, riverbanks and on lake shores. Locally called simply "yew", this species is also referred to as Am ...

(''Taxus canadensis'') and Canada mayflower (''Maianthemum canadense'').

Fauna

Frogs, toads, and

salamanders Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All te ...

live on the canyon floors, while bird species such as the

cliff swallow The cliff swallow or American cliff swallow (''Petrochelidon pyrrhonota'') is a member of the passerine bird family Hirundinidae, the swallows and martins. The generic name ''Petrochelidon'' is derived from Ancient Greek ''petros'' meaning "roc ...

nest in the eroded canyon walls. As the former name of "Deer Park" might suggest, the area is home to a very large population of

white-tail deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

Recreation

Today there are five miles of marked hiking trails, in addition to nine miles of

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and p ...

and equestrian trails. The Plum Island Eagle Sanctuary is located nearby.

References

{{authority control State parks of Illinois Protected areas of LaSalle County, Illinois Protected areas established in 1943 1943 establishments in Illinois