PUBLIC PARKS OF IOWA 123 



DESCRIPTION OF PILOT MOUND. 

 By Mrs. C. H. McNider. 



Pilot Mound attracts an increasing number of visitors although there 

 is no provision made for their comfort. It is not uncommon on pleasant 

 Sunday afternoons in late summer for several different parties to motor 

 over from here. Although the condition of the roads on the Mound makes 

 the ascent rather difficult, anyone feels repaid for the effort, for the view 

 from the summit is truly wonderful and the same people go again and 

 again to enjoy it. The extent and beauty of this view has often been 

 described and I have never seen it exaggerated. 



On our last trip we found the little lake and were charmed with the 

 beauty of its setting. 



Our visits have been so brief and so late in the season that I have not 

 had a chance to enjoy the unusual flora and bird life that Eugene Secor 

 has told us about. You have information of these things and also of the 

 geological interest. 



If you and other members of the Conservation Board could visit Pilot 

 Mound there is no doubt but that you would be enthusiastic about making 

 it a state park. 



A few years ago when the devastation of a portion of the Mound was 

 threatened by the removal of the standing timber, I received the enclosed 

 letter from Dr. Macbride which will be more welcome to you than any- 

 thing I can say, for it shows how highly he regarded Pilot Mound and 

 no one will rejoice more than Dr. Macbride over the work of saving our 

 scenic places, which is now in progress, 



LETTER TO MRS. C. H. McNIDER. 

 By Dr. Thomas H. Macbride, President State University of Iowa. 



Now I have a problem for you! I am enclosing a clipping from the 

 Winnebago Republican in which you will find reference to the probable 

 fate of one of the most beautiful places in Iowa. Pilot Mound is close to 

 Mason City; one day, if it be preserved in its beauty, the interurban from 

 Mason City to Clear Lake will be extended to Forest City and to the top 

 of Pilot Mound, very likely, that all men may have the delight of the 

 glorious view from that point and may see the beautiful groves and lakes 

 that lie up there, high above the ordinary level of the country. Is there 

 no way now by which the people of Mason City, Clear Lake, and Forest 

 City may unite to save, for the public and for our children, this beautiful 

 piece of natural scenery? It will take us some time to get the state 

 started in the direction of purchasing. 



