Dorrance Park Forest Preserve

Web site:

www.ricfpd.org

Managing Organization:

Rock Island County Forest Preserve District

Contact:

Scott White

Phone Number:

309-496-2620

Parking and Access Instructions:

Access to the park is located off Agnes St.

Site Amenities and Recreation Opportunities:

Ball diamonds, restrooms and playground equipment. Unmarked hiking trails.

Hours Open:

Dusk, or if necessary, until league play concludes.

Natural Site Characteristics:

Dorrance Park, the smallest of the five Rock Island County Forest Preserves, has excellent wildlife habitat and is a wonderful location for bird watching. It has three baseball diamonds and one Pee Wee League diamond. The fields serve as home to the Upper Rock Island County Recreation Association (U.R.I.C.R.A.). The park also has a playground with picnic tables, as well as restroom facilities.

Nathaniel Dorrance, the original owner of the land and the park’s namesake, willed the property to the Port Byron Academy. Upon dissolution of the academy, the land went to Dorrance’s heir, his grandson Clarence Stephens. Stephens donated the land to the Village of Port Byron for the Port Byron High School to use as an athletic field. In 1944, the Village of Port Byron deeded the property to the Rock Island County Forest Preserve District with the provision the county maintain the land for its continued use by Port Byron High School. The high school has since closed, but Dorrance Park remains under the auspices of the Rock Island County Forest Preserve District.

Site Acreage:

81 acres