Peoria Standard

One of Illinois’ most popular state parks could be expanding soon.

For over 100 years, Illinoisans and visitors to the state have flocked to Starved Rock State Park in LaSalle County to take in its natural beauty, hiking trails, and history. In 1911, the state purchased much of the land and designated Starved Rock as Illinois’ second state park.

At the time, and in the decades that followed, one of the attractions near Starved Rock was a geological formation known as Bailey Falls. The falls were located on Bailey Creek near the Vermilion River. Like much of northern Illinois' geology, these waterways were formed by melting glaciers from the last ice age, between 10,000 and 16,000 years ago. However, unlike many rivers and streams in northern Illinois, Bailey Creek carried only a small amount of water, insufficient to erode away the limestone through which the falls plummeted.

The creek and adjacent falls were named for Lewis Bayley, a War of 1812 veteran and early settler in the region. The Bayley family lived on this land in LaSalle County during the 1830s and opened a sawmill there half a century after the battle that gave nearby sandstone cliffs their name. This was also half a century before opening the first Starved Rock Lodge.

Bayley’s land was situated on Bailey Creek near Bailey Falls, close to Bailey’s Point and Bailey’s Grove. A 1922 article in the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society noted “that the Bayley family was one of considerable importance among early settlers in LaSalle County.”

Over time, the spelling of the family name changed. Lewis and Betsy Bayley had a son named Timothy Bailey who fought in the Civil War for three years. He had a son who served in France during World War I. Around this time, their old lands in LaSalle County became a tourist destination.

With automobiles arriving at the start of the 20th century came travelers who used them. A road was built that forded Bailey Creek near their old homestead; tourists soon discovered Bailey Falls as an attractive picnic spot for fishing and swimming—a popular hiking area like its surroundings.

Stories exist about motorists driving up to Bailey Falls for a natural car wash. Similar to how Starved Rock had become home to a lodge by the 1890s, Bailey Falls eventually featured its own snack bar.

However, changes occurred during the 1950s when a private company bought land around Bailey Falls for its limestone deposits. A quarry was established; consequently diverting Bailey Creek while making surrounding areas off-limits for public access over subsequent decades.

Despite restricted access around former sites like those at Baileys Fall's location—the memory persisted nonetheless: In 2018—the state announced plans expanding not just towards areas within but beyond—nearby Matthiessen State Park—adding almost an additional acreage totaling nearly up-to-3000-acres inclusive where previously lay once-historic-Bailey-Falls-region too!

Meanwhile—Starved Rock continued drawing thousands annually seeking respite amidst urban locales such as Chicago or Milwaukee experiencing renewed popularity particularly post-pandemic-era during circa-2020 providing Midwesterners ample opportunity stretching legs amidst scenic-nature-close-by-destinations alike!

No official date has yet been set regarding opening newer sections surrounding historic-Bailey-Falls within park premises though information remains accessible online via both-Starved-Rock-&-Matthiessen-State-Park visitor guides respectively!