Blackwell Natural History
Visitors hiking through Blackwell walk on land that was shaped 12,000 to 15,000 years ago by the retreating Wisconsin Glacier. Much of the soil in DuPage County today was left behind by runoff water when the glacier melted. Sand, silt, clay and gravel eventually formed what is known as an outwash plain.
After the glacier's retreat, savannas (widely-spaced oak woodlands) formed on the higher ground while the lower-lying ground became home to many species of marsh and prairie plants. The post-glacial land of oaks, wetlands and prairie was the scene that greeted the county's first settlers over 150 years ago.
Living in the meadows and marshes of McKee Marsh are many native animals, including coyote, red fox, sandpipers and muskrat. Blackwell's oak and hickory woodlands contain numerous songbirds, chipmunks, squirrels and raccoons and outstanding displays of spring wildflowers.
Blackwell Preserve History
The DuPage tall grass prairie remained unaltered until the 1830s. At that time, Erastus Gary, one of Winfield Township's first settlers, made his home on the land that is now Blackwell Forest Preserve where he operated a grist mill just east of the West Branch of the DuPage River, then know as Gary's Mill. Gary went on to become a founder of the steel-making city of Gary, Indiana, and also helped in the founding of the U.S. Steel Company.
While excavating Blackwell's McKee Marsh for restoration in 1977, District employees uncovered the skeleton of a woolly mammoth that lived about 14,000 years ago during the last Ice Age. This was the most significant find in the Forest Preserve District's holdings and is one of the oldest paleontological finds in northeastern Illinois. These bones are now on permanent display at Fullersburg Woods Environmental Education Center in Oak Brook.
Purchased by the District in 1960, the preserve was named for former Forest Preserve Commission President Roy C. Blackwell. The scenic shores of Silver Lake were once a dust and slag-filled quarry known as the Hoy Gravel Pit. District planners believed the pit could be turned into a multi-use project that could retain storm water and offer recreational opportunities to residents of the quickly growing county.
While excavating the pit, large quantities of low-permeable clay were discovered that could be used to prevent water leakage and protect the county's groundwater supply. With this discovery, the District decided to create a winter sports hill that could also serve as a landfill. After eight years, Mt. Hoy was created, and has provided valuable knowledge in managing solid waste.
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