| Dolliver Memorial State Park | |
|---|---|
 Dolliver Memorial State Park's South Lodge | |
  Dolliver Memorial State Park Location in Iowa Show map of Iowa Dolliver Memorial State Park Dolliver Memorial State Park (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Location | Webster County, Iowa, United States |
| Coordinates | 42°23′13″N94°5′1″W / 42.38694°N 94.08361°W /42.38694; -94.08361 |
| Area | 594 acres (240 ha) |
| Elevation | 1,005 ft (306 m) |
| Established | 1925 |
| Administered by | Iowa Department of Natural Resources |
| Named for | Jonathan P. Dolliver |
| Website | Official website |
Dolliver Memorial State Park Area A & Area B | |
| Built | 1934-1935 |
| Built by | Civilian Conservation Corps |
| Architect | Central Design Office, Ames |
| Architectural style | Rustic |
| MPS | CCC Properties in Iowa State Parks MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 90001684 90001685 |
| Added to NRHP | November 15, 1990 |
Dolliver Memorial State Park is a public recreation area inWebster County,Iowa, United States, featuring high bluffs and deep ravines on theDes Moines River. Thestate park is located 10 miles (16 km) south ofFort Dodge and 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest ofLehigh.[1] The park contains two listings on theNational Register of Historic Places: Dolliver Memorial State Park, Entrance Area (Area A) and Dolliver Memorial State Park, Picnic, Hiking & Maintenance Area (Area B).
Dolliver Memorial State Park is on the west bank of the Des Moines River at the mouth of a small tributary called Prairie Creek. The creek and a smaller tributary known as Boneyard Hollow have erodedcanyons through a 100-foot (30 m) high bluff, exposing across section ofsandstone deposited by aPaleozoic river.
Thesandstone and other bedrock exposures in the park are some of the northernmost exposures of the lowerCherokee Group, rocks laid down during thePennsylvanian Epoch.[2]
Along Prairie Creek, a unique area known as the Copperas Beds is exposed. This is an iron-cemented pebbleconglomerate. This rock is named for thecopperas (iron sulfate)efflorescences that form on the rock face during dry weather and may be completely washed away by a heavy rain. Copperas is an ancient term. More recent studies of the efflorescence show that it is made ofmelanterite orrozenite, with some crystals ofhalotrichite andszomolnokite. Previous to their discovery here, most of these minerals had never been identified anywhere in Iowa.
At the north end of the park is a narrowravine named Boneyard Hollow. Earlysettlers found numerous bones ofbison littering the ravine. It is thought that prehistoric Native Americans either stampeded bison into the ravine from abuffalo jump or herded them into the confined space from the riverbank, where they killed and butchered the animals. There are also several Indian mounds within the park.[1]
In 1915 eleven-year-old Ruth Peterson discovered a lead tablet at the mouth of the creek outside Boneyard Hollow. TheLatin inscription stated that the tablet had been left by explorers claiming the area for France in 1750, and mentioned FatherLouis Hennepin by name. With the potential to rewrite European exploration of Iowa, the "Hennepin Plate" attracted a great deal of attention. Edgar Harlan, curator of the Iowa state archives, led an investigation. However the poor Latin and the fact that Hennepin had died in 1706 cast doubt on the tablet's authenticity. Ultimately two local boys admitted to making the tablet as a prank in 1913.[3] As a result of the hoax, though, Harlan had become interested in the scenic area and helped spark public interest in preserving it as a state park. The property was purchased for $38,500 and dedicated in 1925 as Iowa's third state park, afterBackbone andLedges.[4] Ruth Peterson died in 2004 at the age of 100, and in 2007 her son and other relatives donated the tablet to the Webster County Historical Society.[3]
TwoNew Deal-era relief programs during theGreat Depression developed many of the park's amenities. TheCivilian Conservation Corps (CCC) had two companies that worked in the park between 1933 and 1935. TheWorks Progress Administration constructed the group camp from 1937 to 1938. The amenities completed by the CCC are the subjects of the two listings on the National Register of Historic Places.[5] They completed the checking station and north entrance portals by the end of April 1934 and the south portals by May of the following year. The service building, which was the largest project built by the CCC in the park, was also completed in April 1934. The lodge, completed in November 1934, replaced an older structure. It'sflagstone patio was finished in July 1935. A memorial toU.S. SenatorJonathan P. Dolliver, for whom the park is named, was completed in May 1935. Other projects completed by the CCC include alatrine,footbridges,culverts, stone steps along a hiking trail, the trail itself, and roads. The significance of therustic architecture employed here, and designed by theCentral Design Office inAmes, is that it was meant to blend into its natural surroundings by means of its material, design, and workmanship.[5]
The campground features 33 sites, all with electrical hookups, plus 2 camper cabins, modern restrooms, showers, and aholding tank dump station. There is a separate group camp with a dining hall, restrooms, and showers. Two lodges built in the 1930s and an open picnic shelter can be rented for private events.[1]
The park provides a boat ramp for river access. An interpretive trail follows Prairie Creek to the Copperas Beds and then leads up to the wooded blufftops.[1]
| Fort Dodge |
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| Lehigh | ||
