In 1943, Clyde and Nellie Jackson moved into a house on River Beach Drive in the small town of Rome, Illinois. Across the street from the house was Illinois River beachfront. The beachfront, ravaged by the occasional river floods, was gnarled with brush. Clyde gave Nellie his vow that he'd turn the beachfront into a park and name it after her.
Clyde and Nellie had four children to feed. They couldn't afford to clear the land and haul in fill dirt to raise the ground up away from the river. Nellie passed away in 1972. They had been married just 50 years. Clyde again vowed to build the park.
With help from friends and fill dirt from the new Mossville plant Caterpillar was building, a quarter-acre park came to be. Clyde erected a sign, 'Nellie M. Jackson Lakeview Park.' Clyde had fulfilled his vow.
Little has changed in this park. Now there are a couple of shade trees and some picnic tables with benches. There is a new sign that reads 'Nellie Jackson Park – Chillicothe Park District.'
This cache is placed with permission. The park closes at 10:30 pm.