Point Pleasant Wetland

One of Champaign County's most biodiverse areas, Point Pleasant is a rich natural resource brimming with growth and wildlife. However, this area has not always been as wild as it exists today. Thanks to ongoing restoration efforts, Point Pleasant is a great success story of returning Champaign County land back to it's roots.

Point Pleasant Wetland is a natural area that is considered part of nearby Middle Fork River Forest Preserve nearby. The namesake of the preserve has a long natural history of shaping other nearby natural areas, such as Point Pleasant. The Middle Fork of the Vermilion River begins in Ford County, just north of here, and flows southeast to join up with the Salt Fork. The two together form the Vermilion River. The Middle Fork is Illinois’ only federally designated Wild and Scenic River. This major piece Champaign County natural history has been home to a large amount of wildlife for centuries. The Middle Fork corridor provides habitat to 57 kinds of fish, 61 different mammals, approximately 50 reptiles and amphibians, and 190 species of birds. Thanks to many efforts to restore natural areas in and around Middle Fork River Forest Preserve, a population of bald eagles recently has decided to nest in the preserve and are a perfect example of the wildlife that has returned.

Prior to being primarily a wetland area, Point Pleasant included natural lake that was likely created by a glacial ice fragment around 15,000 years ago. As it slowly filled with organic material and temperatures continued to warm, the basin eventually became a marshy area.

For more than 12,000 years, humans have called this area home. At the end of the last Ice Age, the first groups of Native Americans moved into local river valleys, including the Vermilion's Middle Fork areas. Archaeological evidence suggests that the area was heavily occupied during the Woodland (1000BCE to 300CE) and Mississippian (90CE) periods.

According to Public Land Survey records from 1822, the Point Pleasant area was described to be “rolling rich prairie.” Knowing the richness of prairie soils, these lands were very desirable to farmers and much of the area was used for agricultural purposes for decades until 2001. Conversion to agriculture is a primary reason that Illinois ranks 49th in percent of land remaining in original vegetation. However, recent restoration efforts have been in action and the land is slowly returning to the tallgrass prairie and wetland habitats that existed here previously.

Some of Champaign County's earliest European settlers called Point Pleasant home. Much like other county areas, the Middle Fork area had plenty of natural resources for settlers. The available timber supply provided wood for housing, fencing, furniture, fuel, and whatever tools they might need. Nearby rivers also provided a source of clean water. With a small group of settlers living in the area, a post office was established in the early 1850s and was one of Champaign County's first five post offices. The building no longer stands and the land it once occupied is being naturally restored.

Continue to visit Point Pleasant in the future to check on the progress of this great example of natural area restoration.

Champaign County Forest Preserve District, A Pleasant Place Interpretive Sign, Point Pleasant Wetland, Middle Fork River Forest Preserve, Penfield, IL, 2015.

Champaign County Forest Preserve District, Champaign County’s Natural Heritage Restored Interpretive Sign, Point Pleasant Wetland, Middle Fork River Forest Preserve, Penfield, IL, 2015.

Champaign County Forest Preserve District, Point Pleasant Wetland Interpretive Sign, Point Pleasant Wetland, Middle Fork River Forest Preserve, Penfield, IL, 2015.

Hinton, Dave, “Officials working to restore wetlands at Middle Fork River Forest Preserve,” The News-Gazette, December 12, 2019. https://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/parks-recreation/officials-working-to-restore-wetlands-at-middle-fork-river-forest-preserve/article_6fe4e7c2-6a24-5ef3-840a-7d7e73c06db0.html