Stephens Lake Park is a park located in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

, dating back to the early 19th century. Today it serves as an

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

with a lake, and a park spanning 116 acres. It is often used as a live music venue.

History

In 1818, a man by the name David Gordon built a cabin on the area that would become the park. In 1823, The David Gordon House and Collins Log Cabin were built using slave labor. After construction of the manor was complete, the Gordons turned their cabin into slave quarters. The area was owned by the Gordon family for over a century. Then in 1926, the family sold the land to

Stephens College Stephens College is a private women's college in Columbia, Missouri. It is the second-oldest women's educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833, as the Columbia Female Acade ...

. According to a news article from KRCG, someone purposely set David Gordon House on fire on November 9, 1998. The city of Columbia later purchased the park. The park was reopened in 2001. An amphitheatre in the park was opened on June 26, 2010.

Discovery Garden

The park contains a garden called Darwin and Axie Hindman Discovery Garden, it was built to honor Darwin Hindman and Axie Hindman.

Wildlife

Enchenopa binotata ''Enchenopa binotata'' (Hemiptera: Membraciade) is a species complex, complex of multiple species found mostly in Eastern North America, but have also been reported in Central America. They are commonly referred to as treehoppers and are sap-fee ...

'' have been found at the park. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation; Stephens lake contains species like Black Bass, Catfish, and

Bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

Concerts

The Roots N Blues Festival is held annually in the park. According to

Concert archives A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety an ...

, 8 concerts have taken place at the park. Musicians like Dale Watson and Alejandro Escovedo performed concerts at the park in 2013. Amos Lee and Rosanne Cash performed a concert in 2014.

References

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