Downers Grove in DuPage County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Belmont Prairie

Dedicated 1980

— A Downers Grove Historic Site —

Belmont Prairie Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 12, 2025

1. Belmont Prairie Marker

Inscription. On August 24, 1980 this piece of an original Illinois tall grass prairie was formally dedicated as a State of Illinois Nature Preserve. The dedication ceremony was presided over by Downers Grove Park District members, prairie managers Alfred and Margo Dupree, Illinois Nature Preserve Commission members, Belmont Prairie Preservation Association Board members, county and village dignitaries and about 100 local citizens.

Identification and preservation of the Belmont Prairie are largely the result of efforts started back in 1973 by Al and Margo Dupree. After their walk through the prairie next to their house to take pictures, they shared those pictures of the prairie with their camera club at the Morton Arboretum. It was soon realized this was a remnant of an historic Illinois tall grass prairie. Preserving this prairie became their mission. They traced the ownership of the land. Margo used an inheritance to buy one third of the prairie. The Nature Conservancy of Illinois purchased the rest of the prairie with the stipulation it be used as a nature preserve. In November of 1973 Al and Margo helped form a group called the

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Belmont Prairie Preservation Association along with Dr. Robert Betz, Ray Schulenberg, Warren Dewait, Daniel Pike, Wayne Emerson, Helen Meister and John Taggert. With money they raised and a grant from the Illinois Department of Conservation the Downers Grove Park District was able to purchase the prairie in 1979 from the Nature Conservancy and the Duprees for $196,000.

Today Belmont Prairie, a part of the Downers Grove Park District, is a priceless remnant of an Illinois tall grass prairie now forever protected for future generations as a State of Illinois Nature Preserve.

Erected 2024 by Downers Grove Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Environment • Horticulture & Forestry • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical date for this entry is August 24, 1980.

Location. 41° 47.964′ N, 88° 2.818′ W. Marker is in Downers Grove, Illinois, in DuPage County. It is on Cross Street 0.1 miles north of Haddow Avenue, on the right. The marker is just south of the wayside parking lot on the eastern edge of Belmont Prairie. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Downers Grove

Belmont Prairie image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 12, 2025

2. Belmont Prairie

IL 60515, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago.

It is also in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: An Illinois Nature Preserve (here, next to this marker); Welcome to Belmont Prairie (a few steps from this marker); Monarch Habitat (approx. half a mile away); Lottie Holman O’Neill (approx. 1.1 miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 1.1 miles away); a different marker also named Veterans Memorial (approx. 1.1 miles away); Burlington Waycar #14584 (approx. 1.2 miles away); Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Waycar #14584 (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Downers Grove.

Also see . . .
1. Downers Grove Historical Society: Belmont Prairie. (Submitted on April 13, 2025, by Sean P.
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, April 12, 2025

3. Belmont Prairie markers
Three different markers for Belmont Prairie are just south of the parking lot off Cross Street.
Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
2. Downers Grove Park District: Belmont Prairie. (Submitted on April 13, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on April 15, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 13, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 229 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 13, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.