Nature Areas
Marquette Park Ashburn Prairie
Directions: The Ashburn Prairie is located in Marquette Park, the largest park (323 acres) on the southwest side of Chicago. The prairie is located along the edge of the lagoon, south of Mann St., east of Kedzie Avenue. The Marquette Park field house is located at 6734 S. Kedzie Avenue. (map)
Description:
Marquette Park’s three and a half acre prairie remnant has a very special history. The story begins during the pre-settlement era at 87th Street and Kedzie Avenue in a two-acre lot near the Evergreen Cemetery. It was at this location that the original Ashburn prairie thrived, untouched by farming, housing and commercial development. The mesic prairie contained nearly 100 species of native plants. Forbs such as Mountain Mint (Pycanthemum verticillatum), Nodding Wild Onion (Allium cernuum), Nodding Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes cernua), Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), Prairie Dock (Silphium perfoliatum), Compass Plant (Silphium lacinatum), and Obedient-plant (Physostegia virginiana) were found at the prairie. Grasses such as Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) and Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) were also present.
Looming land development threatened the rare patch of prairie. But a heroic effort by the Park District and members of the public resulted in the prairie being moved to Marquette Park. In the spring in 1993, the park district dug up several plugs of prairie using a tree space. Each plug measured four to five feet across. With the important roots of these prairie plant plugs intact, crews carefully transported these huge plugs to Marquette Park. There, the rescue team drilled holes and installed the huge plugs near the edge of the lagoon. Fortunately, the soil profile at the old site was similar to the soil profile at the new site, and overall the prairie rescue was a success. Most of the flowers bloomed the very first year in their new home. As the prairie began to settle into its new home, prairie reconstruction activities continued. Volunteers seeded, planted and weeded between the tree-spaded remnants, and in the areas north of the remnants. To this day, Ashburn Prairie thrives on the commitment of dedicated volunteer stewards.
Chicago Park District
Department of Natural Resources
February 2002