Ney Nature Center

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www.neycenter.org/

The Ney Nature Center is a 446-acre Environmental Learning Center and Le Sueur County Park located on the bluffs of the Minnesota River near Henderson, MN. The property is adjacent to the old East Henderson depot and village site, which has public access to the Minnesota River. It is open to the public for hiking, birdwatching, and X-C skiing. It also serves as a regional teaching station for Community Education and Ney Foundation programming.

Also home to the discovery of a deformed frog population that was eventually found to have been caused by an embryo parasite. See: library.thinkquest.org/2801


Some of the things you can find at the Ney Nature Center:
• Woodlands (including big woods remnants)
• Native Prairie
• River Bottoms
• Crop Land
• The Famous Ney Frog Pond
• Scenic Streams and Ravines
• Abundant Wildlife
• Historic Farmsteads
• Native American History


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Two former homesteads occupy this land, the Wilhelm Ney farm, which was homesteaded in the 1850's, and the Kahlow farm where the Ney Nature Center education building is now located.

The oldest homestead site on the south end of the property, was farmed and occupied by Wilhelm and Sophia Ney and their family. Wilhelm Ney passed the farm to his son Henry in 1884. In 1945 it was passed to Wilhelm and Sophia's grandchildren, Gilbert, Ruby and Flossie Ney. This original 160-acre homestead, as well as 200+ additional acres, was bequeathed to Le Sueur County upon Ruby's death in 1990. Her nephew, Donald Ney, last farmed the Ney land and lived in the old brick farm house until his death in 2002. He donated an additional 80 acres of land to Le Sueur County in 1997.