Madison Township is a township in Polk County, Iowa, United States. Currently Diane Conway serves as clerk with a term expiring in 2018. Trustees Include: Raymond Conway (Term Expiring 2018), Jon Johnson (Term Expiring 2016), and Doug Currie (Term Expiring 2016)
Location
3.0 km
Polk City is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,543 in the 2020 census, an increase from 3,418 in 2010. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Polk City is located along Saylorville Lake and near Big Creek State Park.
3.6 km
The Big Creek Schoolhouse, also known as Polk City Schoolhouse and Polk City City Hall, is a historic building located in Polk City, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1863 when the community was known as Big Creek. It is the work of master builder John Adam Schall, who was able to adapt heavy timber framing for the construction of the two-story Greek Revival structure. It served as a schoolhouse and community center from the time it was built until 1893. It became Polk City's city hall the following year, and continued to serve as a community center. A full-size addition was completed on the back of the building in 1915. Two one-story additions were constructed later in the 20th century. A frame addition was built in 1964 on the southwest corner of the main block, and a frame lean-to was added onto the north elevation in 1984. In 1966 the outside staircase, which was the only way to access the second floor, was removed.
Unused portions of the first floor and the whole second floor of the building was leased to the Big Creek Historical Society, which converted the space into a museum. Restoration took place from 2005 to 2009. The rest of the building continues to serve as city hall. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
5.6 km
Crocker is an unincorporated community in Polk County, Iowa, United States.
8.7 km
Saylorville Lake is a reservoir on the Des Moines River in Iowa, United States. It is located about 11 miles upstream from the city of Des Moines, and 214 miles from the mouth of the Des Moines River at the Mississippi River. It was constructed as part of a flood control system for the Des Moines River as well as to aid in controlling flood crests on the Mississippi, of which the Des Moines is a tributary. The lake and dam is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District.
At its conservation pool normal level of 836 feet above sea level, Saylorville Lake covers an area of 5,950 acres or 9.3 square miles and reaches some 17 miles upstream. At full flood stage the lake can reach 16,700 acres or 26.1 square miles and reach 54 miles long. At this Full Flood Pool, any further flow into the lake is channelled over an emergency spillway to the west of the main dam structure. The record high stage for the reservoir was 892.03 feet above sea level set on July 11, 1993 during the Great Flood of 1993.
Construction of the Saylorville Dam was authorized by Congress in 1958. Excavation began at the site in July 1965, becoming fully operational in September 1977. The dam itself is 6,750 feet long, 105 feet tall, and 44 feet wide at the top.
The lake is utilized for many recreational activities in the central Iowa area as well, as there is a large state park infrastructure surrounding the area of the lake, notably Jester Park and Big Creek State Park. The Corps of Engineers operates several recreation areas, campgrounds, and boat ramp facilities around the lake. Boating and swimming are very popular, as are camping, deer and game bird hunting, fishing, hiking, biking and disc golf. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 4 provides boating safety education and free vessel safety checks to boaters in the area.
Fish species that can be found in the lake include crappie, bluegill, green sunfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, brown trout, northern pike, common carp, white bass, walleye, yellow bass, american eel, flathead catfish, channel catfish, bullhead catfish, and hybrid striped bass.