Sturgis Park

Location:  W. First and Clay
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Acreage: 8.4 Acres

To Rent the Facilities:  

• Shelters in the parks may be reserved in advance. To Book the Shelter, you may do so at The Cedar Falls Recreation and Fitness Center at 110 E. 13th St Cedar Falls or on-line

Facilities:
*Cedar Falls Historical Society’s Ice House Museum
*Behrens-Rapp Tourism Information Station
*Little Red Schoolhouse Museum
*River Wall
*Gazebo
*Open Space
*Parking Lot
*Rentable Band Stage

Trail Access: Cedar Valley Lakes Trail

About the Park
Acquired in 1975/1976, this Park recalls the City’s original name, Sturgis Falls. The Park lies astride the filled-in Mill Race on the south bank of the Cedar River next to the dam built at the falls.

The Park is the site of three historically significant buildings. One of them is the Historical Society’s Ice House Museum (on the National Register of Historic Places). The other two, the Behrens-Rapp Gas Station (now a Tourist Information Center) and the Little Red Schoolhouse, have been moved to the Park from their original locations.

In the Park itself, only the busy, active railroad bisecting it and the Ice House location recall the importance of this area to the City’s history. The Park is dedicated to the earliest permanent settlers here, William and Dorothy Sturgis, who built their double log cabin on this site in 1845, where the Ice House Museum stands.