116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
History-rich lands to be preserved in Indian Creek Nature Center donation
LAFAYETTE — Once 85-year-old George Etzel figured he "couldn't take it with" him, he did the next best thing: He donated 192 acres of history-rich timber, pasture, farmland and farmstead buildings to the Indian Creek Nature Center.
Etzel said he and other family members 'wanted this to remain as it was when grandpa was around.'
Each of the three tracts 'has something unique about it, and we wanted to keep development off them,' said Etzel, who like his father before him was born in a bedroom on the Etzel Sugar Grove Farm a mile south of this Linn County hamlet.
Those unique features range from remnants of one of the county's first mills and an early stagecoach road to spring-fed pastures and stands of mature hardwoods. The history of agriculture in Iowa is on display in the Sugar Grove Farm's well-preserved buildings and their museum-like contents.
That farm, Etzel said, was settled in 1849 and has been in his family since 1888 when his grandfather bought it.
The bequest, valued at more than $1 million, is the largest land gift in the Indian Creek Nature Center's 43-year history, its executive director, John Myers, said.
'We're grateful for George's vision and his family's generosity,' said Tom Hughes, president of the nature center's board of directors.
The gift, Hughes said, provides almost unlimited potential to expand upon the center's two main missions — protection of the land and education about its sustainable use.
Etzel said his family decided to donate the land to the nature center because of its track record for land protection and fiscal responsibility.
The gift consists of three land tracts — each near the Cedar Valley Nature Trail in Linn County.
The Etzel Sugar Grove Farm includes farmland, pasture and a maple grove where the nature center will harvest sap to increase its annual maple syrup production. Throughout the pasture and woodlands, natural springs water century-old trees, and the remnants of an old stage coach road can still be seen on the property.
The Lafayette Mill property, listed on the National Historic Registry, includes remnants of one of the first saw and grain mills in Linn County, originally powered by Otter Creek, which flows year-round through these grounds.
The George Etzel Timber consists of 39 acres of woodlands providing prime habitat for deer, turkey and fox.
'Keeping this land natural will continue to support the ecological health of the property and surrounding land,' Myers said.
The three properties eventually will be open to the public, but restoration and preservation come first, according to Myers.
'We will maintain a strong educational focus with an emphasis on showcasing community-supported agriculture,' he said.
The Etzel family has also established the 'Etzel Sugar Grove Farm Endowed Fund' at the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, with distributions to pay for the property's ongoing expenses.
This donation brings Indian Creek Nature Center's total land ownership and management to 482 acres, all in Eastern Iowa.
The non-profit Nature Center says it promotes sustainability though environmental education and champions land protection and responsible interaction with nature.
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The building at left was used at the wood house (at front) and ice house (at rear). Photographed at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. George Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
A chicken coop sits near the old farmhouse at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. George Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
George Etzel crosses the road between the farmhouse and barns at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
Signs for the Etzel Sugar Grove Farm and Indian Creek Nature Center await installation at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. George Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
An old sign for Sugar Grove Farm and windmill blades are stored in one of the barns at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. George Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
John Myers, Executive Director of Indian Creek Nature Center, walks to one of the barns at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. George Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
George Etzel waits in his golf cart outside a barn at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
Large stones, likely from nearby farm fields, make up the foundation of a large barn at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. George Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
John Myers, Executive Director of Indian Creek Nature Center, holds open a gate for George Etzel at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. George Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
Pieces of an old bridge are stored on a parcel owned by George Etzel in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. George Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
Old mill machinery still sits on the woods along Otter Creek at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. George Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
The stone foundation and milling machinery remains along Otter Creek at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. George Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
The stone foundation and milling machinery remains along Otter Creek at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. George Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
John Myers, Executive Director of Indian Creek Nature Center, walks near Otter Creek at the Etzel family land in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. George Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
This old one-room schoolhouse has been donated and will be moved for preservation at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. George Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
George Etzel shows a photo from the mid-20th century of the grain and saw mill at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. The stone foundation and machinery of the mill, the first in Linn County, can still be found on the family's land. George Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
George Etzel recalls swinging from a branch, since broken off at bottom right, on this old maple tree at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, on Friday, June 17, 2016. Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
The barns at the Etzel farm in Lafayette, an unincorporated area west of Alburnett, have been well-maintained by the family. Photographed on Friday, June 17, 2016. George Etzel has donated 192 acres of the fourth-generation family farm to Indian Creek Nature Center, the largest single land gift in the center's history. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
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