"Rustic Bridge over the Boneyard" 1914
This image was taken near the President's house.
This image was taken near the President's house.
Boneyard Creek History
Early History
The area surrounding the Boneyard was once a prairie grove that consisted of tall grass prairie and the forest known as the Big Grove. It was a favored camping site of the Native American peoples known as the Potawatomi, and was also home to the Kickapoo and the various tribes that made up the Illini. The first settlers who came here in 1822 referred to the creek as Silver Creek and this name was used until at least 1877. However, there are records of the name Boneyard being used before this time. There are two stories associated with the origin of the name. The first is from 1836 when many animals died in and around the creek while sheltering from a blizzard. The second is from 1865 when the prairie marsh areas surrounding the creek were drained and a vast assortment of bones were discovered. There were two hypotheses of how these unearthed bones came to be here. The first is that Native Americans dumped the bones from their kills here. The second is that these were human remains from burial sites that had been exposed. However, to date, there is no strong evidence that the remains were, in fact, human.
The area surrounding the Boneyard was once a prairie grove that consisted of tall grass prairie and the forest known as the Big Grove. It was a favored camping site of the Native American peoples known as the Potawatomi, and was also home to the Kickapoo and the various tribes that made up the Illini. The first settlers who came here in 1822 referred to the creek as Silver Creek and this name was used until at least 1877. However, there are records of the name Boneyard being used before this time. There are two stories associated with the origin of the name. The first is from 1836 when many animals died in and around the creek while sheltering from a blizzard. The second is from 1865 when the prairie marsh areas surrounding the creek were drained and a vast assortment of bones were discovered. There were two hypotheses of how these unearthed bones came to be here. The first is that Native Americans dumped the bones from their kills here. The second is that these were human remains from burial sites that had been exposed. However, to date, there is no strong evidence that the remains were, in fact, human.
Pollution
As Urbana grew, so too, did its toll on the Boneyard as pollution was rampant. Even near the turn of the century, pollution was a major problem in the Boneyard. Raw sewage, garbage and industrial waste being dumped into the creek was the cause of the pollution. Reports from 1915 include complaints about gas waste contamination and described the Boneyard "as constituting an eyesore, being littered with trash..." (A). Another, from the same year, had the complaint that the creek, banks, and some lawns were "coated with thick layers of oils and tar, and accompanied by characteristic odors" (A). During these times hardly anything could survive in the creek. With the passing of the EPA’s Clean Water Act in 1972, the water quality began to improve. The water was chlorinated around this time to control the bacterial and algal blooms caused by the pollution, which effectively killed all but the hardiest of fishes. Once chlorination was stopped, fish populations began to recover. However, pollution and garbage dumping are still problematic as anything that gets dumped down a storm drain will end straight up into the Boneyard without treatment. In February of 2011, it was discovered that a pipe from the old Ameren gas plant that was once used for dumping coal tar into the creek was still leaching contaminants into the area.
As Urbana grew, so too, did its toll on the Boneyard as pollution was rampant. Even near the turn of the century, pollution was a major problem in the Boneyard. Raw sewage, garbage and industrial waste being dumped into the creek was the cause of the pollution. Reports from 1915 include complaints about gas waste contamination and described the Boneyard "as constituting an eyesore, being littered with trash..." (A). Another, from the same year, had the complaint that the creek, banks, and some lawns were "coated with thick layers of oils and tar, and accompanied by characteristic odors" (A). During these times hardly anything could survive in the creek. With the passing of the EPA’s Clean Water Act in 1972, the water quality began to improve. The water was chlorinated around this time to control the bacterial and algal blooms caused by the pollution, which effectively killed all but the hardiest of fishes. Once chlorination was stopped, fish populations began to recover. However, pollution and garbage dumping are still problematic as anything that gets dumped down a storm drain will end straight up into the Boneyard without treatment. In February of 2011, it was discovered that a pipe from the old Ameren gas plant that was once used for dumping coal tar into the creek was still leaching contaminants into the area.
Flooding
The Boneyard has had a very long history of flooding, and there have been numerous projects since the town’s founding to alter the creek to alleviate this problem. It is for these reasons that the Boneyard had been considered a liability and, during the height of pollution, an eyesore. Among the first attempts to get the flooding under control was when it was channelized to improve drainage, which in the long run made the issue worse. However, there have been four major plans, the first in 1949, that have tried to seriously grapple with the flooding by studying the hydrology and re-engineering the Boneyard. A 1979 flood did $ 1,500,000 in damages to Urbana-Champaign, but the worst was yet to come. The largest flood in the history of the United States Geological Survey gauges on the Boneyard was in 1993. This flood did $3.8 billion in damages to the University of Illinois campus alone. It stopped construction on Grainger Library, flooded basements and created sewage problems which shut the university down. It was after this that the Boneyard Creek Task Force was created. It was tasked with creating a comprehensive plan to alleviate the flooding problem. This led to the creek being as it exists today because the multi-part, "17 year long plan" to restore and re-engineer the Boneyard that was launched in 1997 is the product of the task force. The university’s section of the creek was finished in 2002. Scott Park's renovation was completed in 2010. The most recent plan to continue improving the creek was launched in 2006 and is on going.
The Boneyard has had a very long history of flooding, and there have been numerous projects since the town’s founding to alter the creek to alleviate this problem. It is for these reasons that the Boneyard had been considered a liability and, during the height of pollution, an eyesore. Among the first attempts to get the flooding under control was when it was channelized to improve drainage, which in the long run made the issue worse. However, there have been four major plans, the first in 1949, that have tried to seriously grapple with the flooding by studying the hydrology and re-engineering the Boneyard. A 1979 flood did $ 1,500,000 in damages to Urbana-Champaign, but the worst was yet to come. The largest flood in the history of the United States Geological Survey gauges on the Boneyard was in 1993. This flood did $3.8 billion in damages to the University of Illinois campus alone. It stopped construction on Grainger Library, flooded basements and created sewage problems which shut the university down. It was after this that the Boneyard Creek Task Force was created. It was tasked with creating a comprehensive plan to alleviate the flooding problem. This led to the creek being as it exists today because the multi-part, "17 year long plan" to restore and re-engineer the Boneyard that was launched in 1997 is the product of the task force. The university’s section of the creek was finished in 2002. Scott Park's renovation was completed in 2010. The most recent plan to continue improving the creek was launched in 2006 and is on going.
Renovations
Image Citations
All images are via Google images unless otherwise noted.
1) http://www.life.illinois.edu/berlocher/biggrove/
2) http://landplats.ilsos.net/FTP_Illinois.html to learn how to properly interpret Platt maps.
3) https://lafoundation.org/research/landscape-performance-series/case-studies/case-study/613/
4) http://www.library.illinois.edu/prairie/digitalcollections/boneyard.html
5) http://www.news-gazette.com/multimedia/photogallery/2014-07-14/archives-boneyard-creek
6) http://www.las.illinois.edu/news/2014/classrooms/
Works Cited
A) http://www.isws.illinois.edu/atmos/boneyard/pres/default_files/v3_document.htmhttp://landplats.ilsos.net/FTP_Illinois.html
B) http://www.life.illinois.edu/berlocher/biggrove/
c) http://www.tolatsga.org/ill.html
D) http://www.walkinginplace.org/td/source.htm
E) http://www.isws.illinois.edu/chief/library/boneyard/bone_bib.shtml
F) http://archives.library.illinois.edu/blog/boneyard-creek/
G) http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2008-03-23/movement-looking-ditch-streams-many-names.html
H) http://www.ucimc.org/content/stunning-discovery-boneyard-contamination-take-action-tonight-28
I) https://lafoundation.org/research/landscape-performance-series/case-studies/case-study/613/
J) http://www.champaign.org/justkids/homework_help/illinois_champaign/champaign_history/story_of_champaign_urbana.html
K) http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/illinois-indian-tribes.htm
L) http://www.news-gazette.com/multimedia/photogallery/2014-07-14/archives-boneyard-creek
M) http://www.library.illinois.edu/prairie/digitalcollections/boneyard.html
N) "Boneyard Executive Summary 1998" pdf
O) "Accomplishments since 2002" pdf
P) "Boneyard Creek Masterplan 2008" pdf http://urbanaillinois.us/departments/public-works/about-public-works/engineering/boneyard-creek-master-plan
All images are via Google images unless otherwise noted.
1) http://www.life.illinois.edu/berlocher/biggrove/
2) http://landplats.ilsos.net/FTP_Illinois.html to learn how to properly interpret Platt maps.
3) https://lafoundation.org/research/landscape-performance-series/case-studies/case-study/613/
4) http://www.library.illinois.edu/prairie/digitalcollections/boneyard.html
5) http://www.news-gazette.com/multimedia/photogallery/2014-07-14/archives-boneyard-creek
6) http://www.las.illinois.edu/news/2014/classrooms/
Works Cited
A) http://www.isws.illinois.edu/atmos/boneyard/pres/default_files/v3_document.htmhttp://landplats.ilsos.net/FTP_Illinois.html
B) http://www.life.illinois.edu/berlocher/biggrove/
c) http://www.tolatsga.org/ill.html
D) http://www.walkinginplace.org/td/source.htm
E) http://www.isws.illinois.edu/chief/library/boneyard/bone_bib.shtml
F) http://archives.library.illinois.edu/blog/boneyard-creek/
G) http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2008-03-23/movement-looking-ditch-streams-many-names.html
H) http://www.ucimc.org/content/stunning-discovery-boneyard-contamination-take-action-tonight-28
I) https://lafoundation.org/research/landscape-performance-series/case-studies/case-study/613/
J) http://www.champaign.org/justkids/homework_help/illinois_champaign/champaign_history/story_of_champaign_urbana.html
K) http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/illinois-indian-tribes.htm
L) http://www.news-gazette.com/multimedia/photogallery/2014-07-14/archives-boneyard-creek
M) http://www.library.illinois.edu/prairie/digitalcollections/boneyard.html
N) "Boneyard Executive Summary 1998" pdf
O) "Accomplishments since 2002" pdf
P) "Boneyard Creek Masterplan 2008" pdf http://urbanaillinois.us/departments/public-works/about-public-works/engineering/boneyard-creek-master-plan