New Lake Decatur signs honor A.E. Staley and his legacy
DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — New signs at Lake Decatur are honoring one man’s contribution to the creation of the lake.
On Monday, two signs recognizing A.E. Staley Sr. and his legacy were revealed by the City of Decatur, its partners and the Staley family. One provides details about Staley, his company and his contributions to Lake Decatur’s creation, and it is currently mounted in its permanent place of display.
The other sign commemorates the former Staley Pump House. It will be installed closer to the Pump House’s location at a later time.
Both signs were designed by the Staley Museum and the City of Decatur.
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Photo courtesy of the City of Decatur. Photo courtesy of the City of Decatur. Photo courtesy of the City of Decatur. Photo courtesy of the City of Decatur.
Staley’s fingerprints can be seen across Decatur. The city recently renamed Lake Decatur’s Basin 3 as the Staley Basin and renamed its boat ramps the Staley Boat Ramps. This was done in response to a donation from the Staley Family Foundation to the Centennial Lake Fest.
The Foundation is also supporting summer projects to upgrade the area and its public accessibility. These include a new shoreline protection system, decorative ledgestone retaining walls to reduce soil erosion, picnic tables, informational signs and landscape plantings.
The projects are tentatively scheduled to start in July and finish in August. Once the projects are complete, a second, nearly identical informational sign will be placed at the Staley Boat Ramps.
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