Although named for the red haw (hawthorn) trees that grow there, redbud trees are the springtime wonders at Red Haw State Park, a mile east of Chariton, underplanted in the woods around the lake and elsewhere. Quite a show!
These photos were taken during early May, on a Sunday afternoon when the redbuds were at their best and the park was full of people admiring them. I intended to put them here then, but didn't quite get around to it.
Red Haw, built during the 1930s as a Civilian Conservation Corps project, is a great little park with a classic stone shelter house from the CCC era that serves as a venue for everything from picnics to weddings --- even funerals now and then.
An interesting footnote involves the fact that if it ever gets really dry in Lucas County, those of us who live in Chariton are entitled to drink the lake! That's because when its dam blocked the creek above the lakes that provide Chariton's regular source of water during the 1930s, the city wisely reserved the right to tap Red Haw Lake if those lower lakes went dry. Iowa's Department of Natural Resources got nasty about that a few years ago, forcing Chariton to go to court to affirm its right to Red Haw water if worse comes to worst.
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