Illinois, Massac County, Metropolis

river mile 943

A pretty park, of the classic riverfront town design. Long and narrow, but no levee or bluff behind: here Massac Creek, running into the Ohio, has created a broad alluvial plain. It’s a classic city park: lots of deciduous trees spotted about a manicured lawn. The city landscaping crew was pruning the day the rsearch team stopped by. Dorothy Miller, or the people who renovated the park a couple of decades after it was first constructed, must have loved trees. There is a great variety of species, all widely spaced so one can really appreciate their individual shapes. There are two picnic shelters with one and six picnic tables, respectively. The flush restrooms were clean and freshly painted, but the water fountains were out of commission due to vandalism. There’s no playground, and no grills, but there’s lots of room for the kids to run around, so it would be better for a civilized picnic basket picnic rather than for serious cooking.

There is plenty of room for bicyclists and paddlers to pitch tents, though pulling a craft away from the water up the low bluff to the manicured lawn would be challenging due to many feet of tall grass and brush intervening. It is an easy walk to downtown Metropolis for supplies. And — there’s a lighthouse! Lighthouses are not needed on the Ohio River: there are no distant ships which much be brought through high waves into a safe port — but it’s pretty. It is dedicated to the abolition of cancer.

Next park: casino, Metropolis

Field research June 2018