Thomas Mitchell Park
10509 NE 46 Ave.
Mitchellville, Iowa 50169
515-967-4889
A tall, wooded ridge is the most prominent natural feature of this
175-acre park south of Mitchellville. Thomas Mitchell, a native of
New Hampshire, built his cabin here along Camp Creek in 1844. His
cabin site is no longer visible, but Polk County's first permanent
English-speaking settler is still remembered by a park monument and
the town of Mitchellville which bears his name.
The park offers a 49-unit campground, two picnic shelters,
universally designed play area, fishing pond, and the 1-1/2 mile
Devotie Trail. The park entrance is located on NE 108th Street just
south of NE 46th Street between Altoona and Mitchellville.
Thomas Mitchell Park was named after Polk County’s earliest
Anglo-American settler, Thomas Mitchell. In 1844, Mitchell obtained
early access to the Iowa Territory from Captain Allen, commander of
Fort Des Moines. In exchange, Mitchell built a bridge over Camp
Creek which was often impassible to wagons traveling from Keokuk
and Iowa City to Fort Des Moines. He also built the Apple Grove Inn,
in what is today’s Thomas Mitchell Park. Thomas Mitchell was not
only an innkeeper, but also a farmer, legislator, sheriff, and operator
of a stop on the Underground Railroad.
Thomas Mitchell Pond Report
The five acre pond at Thomas Mitchell Park has been a popular fishing spot for many years. Park
visitors were saddened last summer when an algae die off caused a fish kill that affected
largemouth bass, bluegill, channel catfish, and grass carp at the pond. Low water levels and low
oxygen levels contributed to the fish kill. This spring the Iowa Department of Natural
Resources (IDNR) did a fish survey and found a few fish left in the pond. However the pond is
still unhealthy, an issue Polk County Conservation has been struggling with for years. The pond
is extremely shallow due to erosion and sediment run off from the watershed. The aerator that
kept the water circulating to provide oxygen is broken and expensive to repair. Algae and
emergent vegetation can be found growing throughout the entire pond. Polk County Conservation
understands that this is a very popular resource and is currently exploring options to handle
this situation. Several options such as dredging or adding retention ponds are very costly. We
do not currently have the necessary funding to address the problem but are pursuing grant
opportunities and are working with the IDNR and the Natural Resource Conservation Service to
identify additional resources.
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