<aside> <img src="/icons/arrow-right-basic_green.svg" alt="/icons/arrow-right-basic_green.svg" width="40px" /> ~13,000 years ago

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Wisconsin Glacial Stage (Last Ice Age) Bloomington Morainic System circled in red by History of Illinois Agriculture

• The last ice age formed a new landscape.
• Glaciation caused trimmings to high terrain peaks and filled gaping areas, and when the glaciers melted, streams and rivers were created among the moraine.
• The natural land soils contained minerals such as clay, silt, sand, and gravel.

Learn more: The Natural Heritage of Illinois: Essays on Its Lands, Waters, Flora, and Fauna by John E. Schwegman.

<aside> <img src="/icons/arrow-right-basic_green.svg" alt="/icons/arrow-right-basic_green.svg" width="40px" /> 18th Century

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1819 Map of Illinois by David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries

• The Kickapoo Tribe as early as 1735 was found to have first occupied a section of Mclean County, known as the Grand Kickapoo Village. The native people lived connected and managed the prairies through practices of clearing landscapes with fire.

<aside> <img src="/icons/arrow-right-basic_green.svg" alt="/icons/arrow-right-basic_green.svg" width="40px" /> 1835

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‘Forest Lands,’ 1835 vs. 1967 McLean by County Regional Planning Commission

• In light blue, the map displays the areas that indicated forests and groves that were just beginning to be cut down to create homes and cultivate crops.
• The practice of wildland burning continued to thrive as the production of agriculture progressed because the climate was most promising, with good rainfall and sunny days.

Learn more: The Smithsonian Guides to Natural America: The Heartland by Suzanne Winckler

<aside> <img src="/icons/arrow-right-basic_green.svg" alt="/icons/arrow-right-basic_green.svg" width="40px" /> 1850s

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McLean County, 1830 and 1850 - Land entries in black by Economy and Land Use Patterns of McLean County (University of Chicago, 1950) Arthur Weldon Watterson.

• The maps show the rapid colonization of Mclean County between 1830 and 1850.
• The lighter tint represents the public domain, which is still an undeveloped area, while the darker spots represent the extension of land. Bold squiggles located close to the lighter squiggly lines that symbolize the rivers are used to identify the timber.
• A span of 20 years resulted in a reduced amount of prairie flowers growing on the prairie grounds while increasing the amount of grain and soybeans.

<aside> <img src="/icons/arrow-right-basic_green.svg" alt="/icons/arrow-right-basic_green.svg" width="40px" /> 1970

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• Current agricultural practices and plant nutrient sustainers introduce commercial fertilizers, pesticides. The non-native species have taken over “1 out of 3 plants in Illinois woodlands, wetlands, and grasslands.”). One of the various methods to exterminate invasive species is through chemical use: herbicides.

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<aside> <img src="/icons/arrow-left-basic_green.svg" alt="/icons/arrow-left-basic_green.svg" width="40px" /> 9,000 - 5,000 years ago

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"Restored tallgrass prairie in DuPage County, Illinois" by cassi saari is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

• The prairies were at their full growth potential, the grass and ragweeds still increasing, and the oak woodlands and elm were developing until bogland history ended due to the impact of settlers’ expansion.

<aside> <img src="/icons/arrow-left-basic_green.svg" alt="/icons/arrow-left-basic_green.svg" width="40px" /> 1820

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Bloomington Township Original early 1820s survey and 1874 plat by McLean County Museum of History

• Before the establishment of Mclean County in 1830, early settlers began arriving at the settlement known as Blooming Grove.
• The Illinois prairie land remains undisturbed, with continuous plant and tree growth.

<aside> <img src="/icons/arrow-left-basic_green.svg" alt="/icons/arrow-left-basic_green.svg" width="40px" /> 1837

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"Manns' superior seeds (16202683760)" by Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection.; J. Manns & Co. is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

• The prairie lands in Mclean County were quickly revolutionized through the introduction of John Deere’s iron and steel plows.
• The progression from full days of plowing the land turned into only hours of cultivating the soil, leading to increased food production.

<aside> <img src="/icons/arrow-left-basic_green.svg" alt="/icons/arrow-left-basic_green.svg" width="40px" /> 1870s - 1880s

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Bloomington Township Original early 1820s survey and 1874 plat by McLean County Museum of History

• Significant land alterations brought about by the harvesting of timber and the efficient building of railroads coincided with a massive inflow of people.
• The settlers' steadfast ambitions for the land have instilled the belief that development must be pursued at the expense of the ecological.

<aside> <img src="/icons/arrow-left-basic_green.svg" alt="/icons/arrow-left-basic_green.svg" width="40px" /> 1975 - Present

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• To restore change, organizations began stepping up; for example, the Fermilab Project initiated a plan in 1975 to save and preserve the remaining tallgrass prairie areas as well as plant native seeds in woodland areas.