Rock Springs Conservation Area

Rock Springs Conservation Area is a 1,300-acre (5 km²) park located 4 miles (6.5 km) southwest of Decatur, Illinois. It is the largest parcel of parkland, in terms of surface area, in Macon County.

"Rock Spring" is a natural outflow of water from the sandstone bluffs on the south bank of the Sangamon River. The spring was a meeting point for local Native Americans. Around 1915 and 1916 a bottling plant bottled spring water for sale to local merchants. Only ruins of the building remain today. Nearby is "Miller's Mill", the site of an 1800s gristmill that ground local maize into cornmeal. There is an informational kiosk on the trail overlooking the mill site which tells the history of the mill.

The area surrounding the springs consists of Sangamon River wetlands and low bluffs of marginal agricultural productivity. As the population of Decatur grew sharply in the early 1900s, large parcels of land alongside the Sangamon were condemned so that the metropolis could build a modern sewage plant. More than two square miles of land around and downstream from the plant was redesignated as a nature center and buffer zone.

The current Rock Springs Conservation Area is the product of this urban-planning intiative. The center is operated by the Macon County Conservation District."Rock Springs Conservation Area", Macon County Conservation District, Deactur, Ill., accessed 4 August 2007 [http://maconcountyconservation.org/rocksprings.php] ]

The nearest major highway is Illinois Route 48, southwest of Decatur.

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