Clay Street Park

Clay Street Park. Prairie Pathways - An Interpretive Journey. , Herman Caswell Hemenway (1834-1922) Born in Potsdam, New York, Herman Hemenway was a public school teacher who moved west to Independence, Iowa, to practice law. He enlisted for the Union Army during the American Civil War and was commissioned First Lieutenant in the 27th Iowa Infantry. Following the war, Hemenway moved to Cedar Falls and established a legal practice that would continue for 47 years. He married Lanie G. Schermerhorn in 1868., Hemenway was a devoted public servant and an early influential leader in the community. He was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in 1875, then to the Iowa Senate in 1877. As a Representative, in 1876, he secured the passage of a bill establishing the Iowa State Normal School, which would eventually become the University of Northern Iowa. For his efforts in securing the location and appropriations, he was thereafter known as the "Father of the Normal School." He also served as Mayor of Cedar Falls from 1903 to 1905., The Hemenway family ardently supported the women's suffrage movement and made their home a shelter for women aspiring to obtain an education at the Normal School. The family personally funded room, board, books and tuition., Lanie Hemenway died in 1913. In the same year, Hemenway donated 1.1 acres for Clay Street Park to be used as a "Children's Play Ground" in perpetuity. Herman Hemenway died in 1922. His contributions remain a visible and valuable part of the neighborhood and community.