Grinnell's Other Lake: Nyanza

Have you ever wondered why Grinnell's "other lake"—Nyanza—bears such an unusual name? Nyanza Gulf (also known as Winam or Kavirondo Gulf) is a shallow body of water in the northeastern corner of Lake Victoria on the western border of Kenya. How did that name cross the ocean and the equator to reach Grinnell? Unfortunately, no one knows for sure. 

However it gained its name, Grinnell's Lake Nyanza has been part of the Grinnell story for a long time—certainly longer than Arbor Lake. Today's post takes Lake Nyanza as its subject, and examines the numerous ways in which this body of water affected life in the growing town of Grinnell.

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I could find no record that established firmly when Nyanza appeared in Grinnell. A look backward in a 1916 Grinnell Herald article proposes that "it was about 1880...that the Iowa Central excavated Lake Nyanza" (January 28, 1916), and Dorothy Pinder accepts that date, reporting that Iowa Central Railroad probably dug the lake in 1880 or 1881 to provide water for the railroad's steam engines (In Old Grinnell, [Grinnell: Herald-Register Publishing, 1995]. p. 34). If we take this evidence for the lake's founding, then Nyanza is about twenty years older than its neighbor, Arbor Lake, which only came into existence in 1903. 

1911 Sanborn Map of Grinnell, Iowa

From the beginning, Nyanza stood on the southeastern fringe of town, and therefore does not appear in early maps. As the Grinnell Herald pointed out in 1888, even then one could reach Nyanza only by walking down the railroad tracks; there was no road to the lake. As Nyanza became an increasingly popular site for recreation, the newspaper urged the city to open a street that would reach the lake (August 31, 1888), and gradually the town stretched into the lake's neighborhood.

Despite the difficulty of reaching Nyanza in the early years, Grinnell citizens certainly knew the lake as newspapers of the day frequently referenced it. When boasting of the many attractions that Grinnell offered to prospective businesses or residents, the newspaper did not fail to mention Nyanza, along with Iowa College, excellent public schools, and "cultured society" (ibid., June 8, 1888). In fact, Nyanza gave residents of Grinnell numerous avenues by which to enjoy themselves.

No later than 1888 the lake was already home to "a fleet of fine boats," and was fast "becoming quite a popular place of amusement," the Grinnell Herald observed (August 31, 1888; ibid., July 17, 1891). When the Herald's reporter left town on the railroad in 1891, he waxed poetic: 

lovely lake Nyanza with its cool and placid waters..., the sailboat resting upon its bosom, numerous small boats that line the shore tell the pleasure and enjoyment that the lake may give (ibid., September 25, 1891).

In winter Nyanza, like Arbor Lake later, attracted ice-skaters (ibid., November 20, 1888; Scarlet and Black, November 14, 1896). In January 1889 the Grinnell Herald observed that "skating on Lake Nyanza...was excellent...and the lake was continually crowded during the glassy period" when it was frozen (January 25, 1889). The following winter, too, Nyanza proved an ideal skating site: "the surface is smooth, the evenings brilliant, and the air just bracing enough so that furs can be left at home. Every night the lake is covered with gay crowds of skaters" (ibid., January 10, 1890). Apparently a local man also made Nyanza part of his toboggan slide when winter weather accommodated (ibid., December 14, 1888).

A 1972 (?) Roger McMullin photograph of sailboats on Lake Nyanza
(https://digital.grinnell.edu/islandora/object/grinnell:5929)

In summer Nyanza attracted anglers, some of whom managed to catch sizable fish. I don't know when it began, but no later than 1902 authorities sponsored the addition of fish to the lake. That autumn, for example, the newspaper reported that "200 large mouthed black bass and 200 Mississippi catfish" fingerlings were added to Nyanza (Grinnell Herald, October 17, 1902). With the founding of the town's Outing Club, local fishermen found additional support for stocking Nyanza. In November 1917, for instance, the club sponsored the addition to the lake of "several thousand" pike, pickerel, bass, and croppies (ibid., November 6, 1917). Five years later the Iowa Fish and Game department dumped a half million [sic!] baby pike into Nyanza (ibid., May 15, 1922). In 1925 the state hatchery contributed "twenty cans" [?] of blue gills, bass, and croppies to both Nyanza and Arbor Lake (ibid., October 13, 1925).

Grinnell Herald, June 25, 1895

Periodically the newspaper told readers of exceptional catches. For example, in July 1917 Ed Dwyer, in Grinnell to work on the college dormitories then under construction, hooked a twenty-one inch pickerel that weighed five pounds (ibid., July 13, 1917).  In 1921 Frank Wells (1895-1982) landed a thirty-eight inch pickerel that weighed ten-and-a-half pounds—a fish so big that it broke Wells's bamboo pole, obliging the man to wade in after the fish and catch it with his hands (ibid., August 19, 1921). In mid-August 1922 Andrew Appleby (1868-1956) took a four-pound walleye at Nyanza (ibid., August 14, 1922).

Advertisement in Grinnell Herald, May 12, 1921

Stories like these encouraged local merchants like Harry Ritter (1872-1952) to sponsor competitions intended to assist sales. A 1921 advertisement, for example, promised a free Winchester Steel fishing rod to the person who caught the largest fish between May 15 and June 15 at either of Grinnell's lakes (ibid., May 12, 1921). 

Photograph of a Horned Grebe
(https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Horned_Grebe/id#)

From its earliest days Nyanza attracted birds, a fact we know mainly because the engineer whom the railroad assigned to manage the lake's pumping station was a birder. Mr. Will Berry (1860-1954) not only paid attention to the lake's avian guests, some of which gained mention in the newspaper, but he also made a hobby of preserving those birds he captured, like the horned grebe he found during its migration in spring 1888 (Grinnell Herald, May 1, 1888). Berry collected so many birds that he showed a case full of his taxidermy art at the fairgrounds, the newspaper reporting that "the birds were all captured within gun shot of the lake" (September 18, 1888). 

As would later also be true of Arbor Lake, the water level in Nyanza sometimes fell drastically, endangering the lake's usefulness to the railroad as well as to those looking for fun. In late 1890 workers of the Iowa Central Railroad dug a well, intending to use the water to refresh the lake, which had gone quite dry; 80 feet down there was still no water to share with Nyanza (Grinnell Herald, October 28, 1890; ibid., November 18, 1890; ibid., December 2, 1890). Soon, however, the newspaper was reporting that there was too much water in the lake. The Herald told readers in 1892 that recent heavy rains had pushed the lake north as far as Washington Avenue and east as far as East Street (May 20, 1892). By late June observers declared that "Lake Nyanza has never been so full as now," the water threatening the railroad tracks that ran along the lake's western shore (ibid., June 28, 1892).

City streets were also under threat because of the lake's expansion to the north. A writer for the Herald wondered if the city ought not plan a bridge at Washington Avenue and also at the south end of High Street (ibid., August 12, 1892). Town fathers responded promptly to this suggestion; within a few days the newspaper told readers that grading was already underway on Washington Street, although the railroad expressed no interest in a bridge over the north arm of Nyanza (ibid., August 16, 1892). Whether because of this publicity or because officers of the railroad proved civic-minded, within a month the railroad agreed to construct a bridge over the northern branch of Nyanza (ibid., September 27, 1892), but progress was slow. In late June of the following year the "unsightly appearance of the half-finished bridge across the north end of Nyanza" generated criticism in the local press (ibid., June 27, 1893). Evidently the bridge then was more than half-finished, because by August 1st the Herald reported that "the new bridge...has been brought into good play all ready" (ibid., August 1, 1893).

An absence or superabundance of water was not, however, the most serious offense against the city's good will. Probably because the trains had to stop at Nyanza in order to take on water for the steam engines, hoboes began to use the area around Lake Nyanza as a temporary home. According to a report in the Herald, citizens who lived near Nyanza were "greatly annoyed" by the visiting tramps who, the newspaper maintained,

congregate in the little grove south of Lake Nyanza until the scene resembles a democratic convention. The grove...makes delightful snoozing quarters for these professional tourists (ibid., May 18, 1891).

On this occasion a policeman, aided by railroad workers, raided the "snoozing quarters" and managed to capture thirteen vagrants. From their cell, the newspaper continued, the arrested men 

claimed [that] they had been looking over the town with a view to a permanent location. They had found the moist breezes from Lake Nyanza very beneficial and after becoming more accustomed to water they fully intended to take a bath [!] (ibid). 

Freed on condition that they abandon town, the thirteen were put on a night train leaving Grinnell, thereby temporarily relieving the city of some of its unwanted visitors. However, as Everett Armstrong's recollections confirm, thirty years later when Armstrong was a boy the city was still doing battle with hoboes who set up camp around Nyanza.

Netta C. Anderson and Johan August Udden, A Preliminary List of Fossil Mastodon and Mammoth Remains in Illinois and Iowa (Rock Island, IL: Augustana College, 1905), p. 34.

A different Nyanza visitor surfaced in autumn 1890 when workmen who were excavating a water tank at the lake "unearthed portions of the skeleton of a prehistoric monster imbedded in the sandy clay...." Exposed to the air, most of the bones immediately crumbled, "a knee joint and thigh bone alone remaining whole...." A "large tooth was [also] uncovered, about 8 by 3 inches on the crown, with roots four or five inches in length" (Cedar Rapids Gazette, October 13, 1890). The Nyanza find did not amaze townsfolk who only a few years earlier had learned of the discovery of a mammoth skeleton when workers were excavating for H. C. Spencer's building at the corner of 4th and Main (Grinnell Herald, June 27, 1884). There investigators rescued a seven-foot tusk, along with some teeth and a few other bones, all of which apparently resided for some years in the Iowa College Museum of Natural History (Scarlet and Black, March 20, 1909; ibid., May 27, 1916; ibid., September 30, 1931). Nevertheless, the 1890 discovery at Nyanza of the remains of a second mammoth generated lots of conversation (Erwin H. Barbour, "Remains of the Primitive Elephant Found in Grinnell Iowa," Science 16, no. 4 [November 7, 1890]:263; my thanks to John Whittaker for sharing this article with me).

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Winter 1935 Photograph of Water Tower near Lake Nyanza
that Served Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad
(Scarlet and Black, March 12, 1999)
 

Grinnell seems to have paid little attention to the lake in the years that followed. So long as steam engines continued to stop in town and refuel, the lake served an important function for the railroad—the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad having succeeded the Iowa Central. But with the advent of the so-called "diesel" engines after World War II, Lake Nyanza lost its commercial purpose. From this point onward, the lake served only the aims of recreation.

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Headline of Grinnell Herald-Register, September 27, 1954

In 1954 the Grinnell Herald-Register initiated discussions with the railroad to purchase the seventeen acres that included the lake, and also got the city to agree to take possession once the park was developed. That autumn the Grinnell Jaycees enthusiastically adopted the project as their own, and, assisted by a donation and planning advice from local businessman, Claude Ahrens (1912-2000), imagined a project that would stretch over several years. Among the facilities proposed was a playground area and docks to extend out into the lake to encourage fishing (Grinnell Herald-Register, September 27, 1954).

Aerial View of Nyanza (Grinnell Herald-Register, April 21, 1955)

Fishing docks attracted one of the first donations—$500 from the Herald-Register (ibid., January 6, 1955)—but the docks were not the first evidence of the coming park. Fittingly, the Jaycees chose Arbor Day 1955 (April 22) to initiate park development by planting the first tree (ibid., April 18, 1955), a birch placed near the point that separated the two arms of the lake (ibid., April 25, 1955). At the same time some 1500 shrubs–mostly multiflora roses–went in around the perimeter and another dozen trees found new homes on the grounds. Members of the Chester Royal Grange joined the Jaycees, who also had help from local businessmen, park board members, and other volunteers (ibid., April 21, 1955).

The Almost Completed Nyanza Dock (Grinnell Herald-Register, July 13, 1955)

Work on a "T-shaped" dock began around Memorial Day. Planned to stretch 48 feet out into the lake to give anglers deeper water to fish, the tip of the "T" would be 24 feet across, providing plenty of space for numerous fishermen. In the absence of life guards, those who chose to fish from the dock were advised to do so at their own risk; swimming was forbidden. At the time the park had no entrance as such, and a storm sewer to direct East Street runoff into the lake remained on the "to do" list (ibid., May 26, 1955).

The Jaycees did not abandon their efforts in winter. With the support of the city Youth Council and assistance from the Goodyear Shoe Repair who offered to exchange or repair skates, the Jaycees set up a skating rink at the northern end of Nyanza where the lake was only 18 inches deep; a fence to the south kept skaters from venturing onto ice over greater lake depths. Volunteers flooded the skating surface to make it smooth and DeKalb Agricultural Association provided flood lights to make possible night-time skating—until 9:30 PM weeknights and 10:30 PM on weekends. Jaycees also brought in logs for seating and firewood to help warm skaters (ibid., December 22, 1955).

Frank Lagrange (1911-1979) and Sam Mullins (1939-1969) warm up at Nyanza Skating Rink
(Grinnell Herald-Register, December 22, 1955)

After this burst of activity, the Jaycees turned the park over to the city, and directed their attention to other projects, with the result that progress on the park at Nyanza stalled. Newspaper articles confirmed that the Jaycees regularly committed to numerous worthy projects. Meanwhile, Nyanza and its adjacent territory, now part of the city's park system, languished.

In 1961, thanks largely to the initiative of city councilman James Miller (1918-2012), the city revived the idea of developing the park that the Jaycees had imagined years earlier (ibid., September 4, 1961). An editorial in the local newspaper commended this plan and all those involved in creating a new park that would serve residents of the southern part of Grinnell (ibid., September 7, 1961). With the support of numerous businesses and volunteers, a baseball diamond was laid out as well as picnic facilities that would eventually include a concrete block shelter house fitted with rest rooms. 

1968 Photograph of the Nyanza Park Shelter
(Grinnell Herald-Register, April 22, 1968)
 

Playground equipment came mainly from local entrepreneur Claude Ahrens (1912-2000), who agreed to donate $1000 worth of equipment if the city purchased an additional $1400 worth of playground products. Local banks, supermarkets and merchants kicked in to permit acquisition of four rocky rodeo ponies, three swing sets, a mustang whirl, a merry flyer, a slide, a teeter-totter and similar diversions (ibid., April 30, 1962; ibid., June 7, 1962). As a consequence of these improvements, in 1986 the Grinnell City Council voted to name the park at Lake Nyanza the James H. Miller Park (Grinnell Herald-Register, May 2, 1986).

Jim Miller Relatives Pose with Mayor Gordon Canfield With Stone Marking Park Entrance
(Grinnell Herald-Register, November 3, 2014)

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Despite the spurts of activity in the 1950s and 1960s, Nyanza and the park that surrounded it suffered from inattention again in the 1970s. Critics began to describe Nyanza as having "more pollutants than any industrial factory could ever hope to produce" (Scarlet and Black, October 1, 1971). A 1975 article in the Des Moines Register described an oil slick on the lake, the result of a leak at a nearby bulk fuel oil storage tank (May 10, 1975). 

Photograph of Fertilizer Factory Near Lake Nyanza
(Grinnell Herald-Register, January 18, 1961)

I did not find an official explanation for the environmental problems at Nyanza, but nearby industries—including a fertilizer factory, a cement mix company and a bulk fuel oil outfit—stood quite close to the lake's western shore, adjacent to the railroad tracks. In an era of minimal environmental regulation, these industries almost certainly contributed to the deterioration of the lake's water quality. A college student writing in the campus newspaper in the 1970s cast doubt upon claims in a new book about good fishing and picnicking at Nyanza; "This must undoubtedly have been taken from Grinnell promotional literature because the sole fish surviving in Lake Nyanza was last seen spitting up mud," the review contended (Scarlet and Black, February 18, 1972).

Local organizations, like the Poweshiek County chapter of the Izaak Walton League, from time to time attempted to improve the lake's water quality and multiply fishing prospects. In early summer 1993, for example, League representatives announced a plan to restock Nyanza and develop a management program to improve fish habitats (Cedar Rapids Gazette, June 18, 1993). In 2010, thanks to the initiative of several citizens, the park gained a "Disc Golf Course," an 18-hole course of more than 5000 feet that stretched all around the park (Grinnell Herald-Register, April 5, 2010). But after an early buzz of activity, the Disc Golf Course, like the fishing dock and baseball diamond before it, fell into disuse. Improvements of the recent past—like the shelter and playground equipment—showed their age and discouraged visitors.

Grinnell Tourism, Grinnell College, and other funders have also contributed to recent efforts to revive and improve Miller Park. In 2014, for instance, the city planted thirty trees in the park, including twenty crabapples to bring springtime color to Nyanza (Grinnell Herald-Register, November 3, 2014). In 2015 the Park Board replaced most of the play equipment, installing a new tire swing, a Jackpack climbing apparatus, and several other items (ibid., October 5, 2015).

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The Shelter at Lake Nyanza (2022 Photo)

Despite these efforts the joy that attended the early days of Lake Nyanza has not returned. Although the large rock inscribed with the name of James Miller, after whom the park is named, remains at the entrance, elsewhere the park and lake betray Miller's hopes. The boarded-up restrooms on the shelter house and the sun-bleached play equipment hardly invite visits, and the silted lake has made fishing and all forms of lake recreation unappetizing. No boats ply Nyanza's waters anymore, and no winter ice-skating invites poetic notice in the local newspaper.

A few trains continue to pass Nyanza each day, but they no longer require the lake's water, and no rail passengers rhapsodize over Grinnell's good fortune to possess such a lake. Instead, as I write these words, several hundred Canada geese inhabit the lake. If rare migratory birds pass through, as horned grebes once did, the geese pay them no mind, nor do they wonder at the lake's name, borrowed from a much larger body of water half a world away.