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River Road Retreat
Holiday splendor is just one aspect of this magnificent lodge and park. STORY BY LIZ PENSONEAU
With the holidays rapidly approaching, many of us turn our thoughts to decorations, family gatherings and dreams of relaxing by a cozy fire while tantalizing aromas from the kitchen fill the air. If this sounds good, you'd be sure to enjoy a holiday visit to Pere Marquette State Park on the Great River Road near Grafton. The park is an outstanding destination any time of the year, but when the winter months roll around, it takes on added charm. Its 8,000 acres, which rub shoulders with the Illinois River, become a cold-weather paradise primarily due to the park's magnificent limestone and timber lodge complex, which is a picture-perfect setting for blustery winter days.
Visitors to the rustic, Depression-era lodge are welcomed into a cavernous great room, which provides a breathtaking view of the Illinois River. A life-size chess set and a massive 50-foot-tall, 700-ton limestone fireplace with its crackling fire dominate one end of the room, and comfortable seating provides a relaxed setting for visitors eager to soak up the atmosphere. Down a nearby corridor, guests can enter the restaurant, which attracts droves of diners from both Illinois and Missouri and is best known for its family-style chicken dinners. Selections from the menu also are available. The lodge, which underwent a $9 million renovation in the mid-1980s, has 72 overnight guests units, including 22 sleeping rooms in cozy and inviting cottages. From Dec. 1 through March 31, a special "Eagle Package" with a very affordable $79-plus-tax price tag makes a night at Pere Marquette even more attractive. History It is interesting that the park's present location was not the first choice of its founders. According to Site Superintendent Richard Niemeyer, a group of private businessmen was trying to raise money for a state park in order to take advantage of matching funds from government sources. But, before the task could be accomplished, the land they wanted to purchase at Elsah was sold. (It is now the site of Principia College.) 2 OutdoorIllinois
Niemeyer said records at the park office state that "Joseph M. Page, known locally as Uncle Joe Page, and John McAdams of the Alton Telegraph, raised $25,000 in the early 1930s to acquire land for use as a park. On May 20, 1931, they purchased 2,605 acres from the Ames family. The new park was known as Piasa Bluff State Park and was renamed Pere Marquette State Park shortly thereafter by popular appeal in recognition of (Father Jacques) Marquette's historical trip through the area in 1673." "There was a farmer named H. H. Ferguson who owned a dairy farm on the west edge of Grafton," Niemeyer said. "He had constructed a big limestone cross on his property to commemorate Father Marquette and Louis Jolliet as the first white Europeans to come to Illinois."
On Sept. 21,1929, following Ferguson's donation of the cross to the state on a parcel of his 800 acres along what is now known as The Great River Road (Route 100), more than 4,000 people attended a ceremony dedicating the cross as a monument to the spot where Marquette, Jolliet and their five companions entered Illinois. Today, the monument is a major tourist attraction, and the original Ferguson homestead is part of Pere Marquette park's landholdings. Leased to the Illinois Department of Corrections, the buildings house an Illinois youth center. "If it weren't for the cross, you'd be at Piasa Bluff State Park today," said Niemeyer, adding that the popularity of the cross was instrumental in the park's name being changed to Pere Marquette. Block by Block Construction on the Pere Marquette Lodge complex began in 1933. It took the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) six years to build the rustic structure and its seven cottages using locally quarried limestone blocks. Massive logs of Douglas fir and western cedar, some three feet in diameter, were transported across the country by rail to support the roof and walls of the lodge itself. In turn, exposed beams became an aesthetic focal point of the chateau-like interior. December 2002 3
The original lodge contained 18 guests rooms, a 154-seat dining room, a meeting/banquet room seating 70, a cocktail lounge and small gift shop. In the cottages were a total of 29 guest rooms. Several of the cabin rooms and five of the rooms in the lodge had shared baths. The swimming pool was outside. It is interesting that the CCC's quality of materials and construction was such that when the renovation project of the 1980s took place, great care was given to preserving the design and historical character of the structures. Out of Sight Perhaps one of the best-kept secrets about Pere Marquette is that it has three organized group camps with a combined total of 112 buildings that also were built by the CCC. (The only other state park in Illinois with such a camp is Dixon Springs near Golconda.) The camps, named Ouatoga, Piasa and Potawatomi, are situated in the northern half of the park, several miles from the park's main entrance. Ouatoga originally served as a Girl Scout camp and Piasa as a Boy Scout camp. Ouatoga and Piasa each have a maximum capacity of 145 campers. Potawatomi can accommodate 68. All three campgrounds are structured in the same manner. They feature fully equipped kitchens and dining rooms, lighted sleeping cabins with cots and mattresses, and restroom facilities with warm showers and flush toilets. Camps Piasa and Ouatoga also have outdoor swimming pools. Groups rent an entire camp, with a minimum requirement of 25 campers. They are used primarily by church youth groups and for family reunions, with priority given to larger groups that want the camps for a week at a time. Niemeyer said a lottery system, which begins on the first working day in January each year, is used in conjunction with the bookings. "We are 98 percent booked by the end of that first working day," he added. "The cost is $4 per night, per person, with a minimum of $100 per night." Visitors Center and Interpretive Programs Snuggled into a hillside along Route 100 at the entrance to Pere Marquette is a 5,000-square foot Visitors Center, the stately appearance of which commands a visit. The 5-year old, state-of-the-art facility is home to many interesting dioramas and a gift shop offering apparel and products unique to the area. It also gives visitors an opportunity to connect with nature by participating in the site's extensive, year-round interpretive programs. Site Interpreter Scott Isringhausen has a reputation for presenting some of the most popular and informative programs in the state. He enthusiastically leads visitors on nature hikes and scavenger hunts, verses them about wetlands and teaches them about owls and wild edible foods. But he is best known for his eagle watching programs during which Isringhausen teaches visitors to distinguish between immature and mature bald eagles, about what eagles eat, why they winter in the area and much more. Isringhausen said eagles are spotted in tree tops along the Illinois River during the months of December, January, February and March. Also available at the Visitors Center for birding enthusiasts is a checklist of the 230 species of birds that have been identified within the boundaries of the park. Popular locations
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for birdwatching include Stump Lake, in the river bottoms, and McAdams Peak and other overlooks. Other Amenities and Activities • Pere Marquette Riding Stables— Open for trail rides from April through October. The stables has its own private trails. • Public equestrian trails—An additional 8-mile section of equestrian trails recently opened, offering horseback riding enthusiasts an opportunity to explore 20 miles of trails on a year-round basis, weather and trail conditions permitting. These trails are not closed during hunting seasons. Although there is a convenient parking lot for horse trailers, the park does not have an equestrian campground. • Hunting programs—Pere Marquette has a 2,000-acre public hunting area for squirrel, deer and turkey. An additional 3,000 acres in the group camp areas are open for archery deer hunting by special permit. Spring turkey hunting also is available in the organized group camp areas by special permit. Contact the park's Visitors Center for applications and information. • Boating and fishing— Access to the Illinois and Mississippi rivers is available from Pere Marquette's launching ramps. Fishing opportunities for bluegill, carp, catfish, crappie, drum, largemouth bass and white bass attract anglers. • Campgrounds and picnic areas— The park's Class A campground provides 80 sites, two of which are handicapped accessible. It also offers two Rent-A-Camp cabins, (one handicapped accessible) complete with two sets of bunks, one full bed and a table with chairs. A Class B tent camping area with access to the shower building is nearby. There also is a youth tent camp area known as Duncan Hill. Picnic areas are available throughout the park, and there are three picnic shelters that can be reserved. • Sam Vadalabene Bike Trail—Running from the park to the city of Alton, 20 miles away, is this scenic, paved trail. Many areas of historic interest are along the route.
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