Thompson Lake

In 1903, Thompson Lake, located immediately north of the confluence of the Spoon and Illinois rivers, is the largest and most recognizable lake in the Illinois River valley. Although representative of many of the backwater lakes along the Illinois River, it is unique in its fertility and productivity (Havera 2003).

At this time, the surface area of Thompson Lake comprises 1,710 acres; Flag Lake adds another 905 acres. An additional 70 acres of wetlands surrounds both lakes. After the full effects of the diversion of Lake Michigan are felt, the surface area of Thompson Lake increases to 5,072 acres (Havera 2003).

Five years earlier, in 1898, a University of Illinois student, Wallace Craig, provided a detailed description of Thompson, Flag lakes and the surrounding area:

...a large body of water, 5 miles long and half a mile wide...It’s maximum depth is about the same as that of Quiver Lake, but since the bottom slopes gradually to this depth from all sides, the greater part of the lake is very shallow, and the shore in many places is a swampy flat overgrown with flags and other forms of vegetation. The greater part of the lake, however, is comparatively free from vegetation. The bottom is mud almost everywhere, but sandy in places. The water is clear, except when the lake is invaded by the flood water of the River, when it becomes moderately turbid. Some spring water enters the lake, but much less than in the case of Quiver and Matanzas (Havera 2003).

In 1987, a local resident, Ross Stufflebeam, describes Thompson Lake in the early days:

it [Thompson Lake] was beautiful. It was just as nice...it was blue. We called it Blue Lake, and that water was blue. It didn’t look like most of the water is now ... And everybody just loved that lake.

He also remembers:

there was woods all around that lake [Thompson Lake]. They had pecan trees, and oh they’d have the nicest pecans on them in the fall. My dad and my brother...They’d go out there in the fall and gather just gallons and gallons of pecans right along that lake there (Havera 2003).

Thompson Lake is named after Nathan Thompson, an early settler of a two-mile square prairie that adjoined the lake. By 1911, Thompson Lake is known for its abundant fishery. In fact, some claim that Thompson Lake is the “Inland Fishing Capital of the World”. Havana, therefore, becomes the “Fishing Capital of the Illinois River,” with floating fish markets lining the river. The biggest fish catch for local fisherman comes from adjacent Flag Lake where 272,000 pounds of carp and buffalo are taken (Havera 2003).

Thompson and Flag Lakes also have a reputation for abundant waterfowl. A Peoria resident, Jim Paul, recalls that in 1916:

Flag Lake was the best duck hunting lake because it had much more vegetation than the others. On one bright, sunshiny day, I was hunting on Flag Lake. There were thousands of ducks on the water. Somebody scared them, and when they took flight, they were so thick they completely shut out the sun ... (Havera 2003).

Hunting season brings hunters from Chicago and across the country, including President Benjamin Harrison and, in 1909, Indiana Governor Durbin and his son. Accounts of the number of ducks taken include one from Leo Borgelt who worked for the C & IM railroad. He tells of transferring “steamer trunks from the Havana-Jacksonville branch to the main line loaded with dead ducks, that sometimes four men could not do the job ... One fellow left Havana twice a week with 500 ducks each ...” (Havera 2003).