Welcome to Prairieview Education Center in Silver Creek Conservation area
Note: Bathroom and water are only available when Prairieview Education Center is open. Please visit mccdistrict.org to see hours.
Opened to the public in 1999, Prairieview Education Center serves thousands of McHenry County residents annually by offering free and low-cost nature programs, youth group programs, summer camps, school field trips and nature-themed bithday parties. The facility hosts traveling exhibits, a reference library, and a family drop-in “Exploration Station.” This interactive room features hands-on activities to help children learn about the natural world. A puppet theater, themed book bags and nature boxes, board games, puzzles, books, and magazines are just some of the available resources. Stop by throughout the year as the activities reflect the seasonal changes taking place in the environment.
History
Prairieview ‘s main building was once the elaborate home of Otto and Hazel Rhoades, built in 1945. Otto was the founder and president of Sun Electric Companyin Crystal Lake. The couple built the 7,500 square foot home, along with a state of the art barn and machine shop. They farmed much of the land, growing their own crops and raising their own beef and pork. The property was then known as Sunrise Farm. Horses and cows grazed in the wooded savanna just southwest of the house. They shared the property with a farm manager and his family, who lived in another house located where Prairieview’ s gazebo stands today. Otto passed away in 1986, followed by Hazel in 1992.
The Conservation District purchased the property in 1993 and began redesigning the home to fulfill the need for an educational center in the growing southeast quadrant of the county. The front and back of the building were expanded and the interior reconstructed, but much of the exterior remains intact as it was when the Rhoades family lived here. The building was opened to the public in 1999.
Silver Creek Conservation Area
Visitors of Silver Creek Conservation Area can enjoy over six miles of hiking trails, cross-country ski trails, and fishing in one of the small ponds. Picnic areas are also available. The natural communities present include wetland, prairie, and savanna. The wide open view highlights a mixture of native grasses and colorful wildflowers, including compass plants, coneflowers, and many species of asters. The woodlands and savannas feature grand oak and hickory trees that invite a wide variety of songbirds, hawks, and owls to fly among the branches while deer, coyotes and an occasional red fox travel below. Sedge meadows and fens located along Silver Creek, within a designated Illinois Nature Preserve, provide habitat for saturated soil loving plants such as marsh marigolds and skunk cabbage, as well as a number of species of frogs, salamanders, snakes and turtles.
Cache Your Way Question
Otto and Hazel Rhoades originally built the large red home on this site, which is now Prairieview Education Center. What was the name of the company Otto founded, and what is it's name now?
Geocachers
Please join us in playing! Geocaching is a high-tech “treasure hunting” game played throughout the world by adventure seeker. All are welcome who observe and obey the rules.
- Please do not move or vandalize the container.
- Once you find it, log your name in the book, take a trinket and leave one of your own behind for the next person.
- Replace the cache in the same spot that you found it, and make sure it is completely covered.
- Please do not remove the informational card from the containers, this is an essential game piece for cachers completing the GeoSeries.
- The real treasure is finding the container and sharing your thoughts with everyone who finds it.
For a complete list of rules and instructions on how to earn a special district geocoin visit MCCDistrict.org/Geocache
Email geocaching@MCCDistrict.org with any questions or concerns
McHenry County Conservation District Information
Visit our website at MCCDistrict.org or call (815) 338-6223
Photo Release
5/20/2021 Photos posted here may be featured on the McHenry County Conservation District's various social media accounts including Facebook, Instagram, and twitter, as well as our website (MCCDistrict.org) and print material such as Landscapes Magazine. By posting photos to this log you agree to allow us to share your work. Photographers will be acknowledged in any shares or posts of photos, so please include your name in your post if it is different from that of your username.