Gensburg-Markham Prairie
| Gensburg-Markham Prairie | |
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IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
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 Map of the U.S. state of Illinois showing the location of Gensburg-Markham Prairie
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| Location | Cook County, Illinois, USA |
| Nearest city | Markham |
| Coordinates | 41°36′25″N 87°41′16″W / 41.60694°N 87.68778°WCoordinates: 41°36′25″N 87°41′16″W / 41.60694°N 87.68778°W |
| Area | 100 acres (40 ha) |
| Established | 1971 |
| Governing body |
Northeastern Illinois University, the Natural Land Institute, and the Nature Conservancy |
| Designated | 1987 |
Northeastern Illinois University, the Natural Land Institute, and the Nature Conservancy
The Gensburg-Markham Prairie, also known as Markham Prairie, is a 105.6-acre (427,000 m2) high-quality tallgrass prairie located in Markham in the Chicago metropolitan area. It is part of the larger Indian Boundary Prairies managed by Northeastern Illinois University and The Nature Conservancy. Described by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as "an unusual example of sandy loam prairie," it is a National Natural Landmark.
The Gensburg-Markham Prairie dates its origins back to the closing years of the Wisconsin glaciation, when postglacial Lake Chicago deposited a large sand beach in what would later become a section of southern Cook County. The poorly drained, damp, sandy soil resisted successful farming, and early pioneer settlers left patches of tallgrass prairie grasses and forbs alone.
Much of the prairie area was annexed by the municipality of Markham, Illinois, a suburb located south of Chicago. In Illinois, annexations of this type were a precursor to real estate development. However, the prairie patch's relatively poor drainage made it less attractive to land development. Furthermore, in the years after World War II Markham became an economically troubled and relatively slow-growing community. Finally, in 1971, the Gensburg family, owners of a key 60-acre (240,000 m2) parcel at the heart of the prairie, donated the parcel to the Nature Conservancy. The prairie's current name, Gensburg-Markham Prairie, commemorates this donation.
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