Neale Woods

Neale Woods is a nature preserve nearly 600 acres in size in North Omaha, Nebraska. Located about 10 miles north of Downtown, Neale Woods is located in the Ponca Hills on top of the Missouri River Valley. It is operated by Fontenelle Forest.

Neale Woods
TypeNature center
LocationNorth of Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Coordinates41°23′23.15″N 95°57′6.55″W
Area600 acres (240 ha) (2.42 km²)
Created1971
Operated byFontenelle Forest
StatusOpen year round

History

Neale Woods was begun with a donation of 120 acres of land by Edith Neale in 1971. Neale's father had homesteaded the land in the mid-1800s. An additional 60 acres of contiguous land was given by Carl Jonas, whose father had been one of the founding members of Fontenelle Forest. After his death, a bequest from Jonas' estate made possible the purchase of 112 acres of additional land. Of that amount, 25 acres were cleared and designated as prairies, planted in a way thought to be representative of the land in the mid-1800s. Jonas' former home now serves as the Neale Woods Nature Center.[1]

Facilities
Gifford Trail, on the eastern edge of Jonas Prairie. Downtown Omaha skyline is visible to the south in the distance

The Neale Woods Nature Center provides trail maps for visitors. A printable trail map is also available online in digital PDF format.[2] Trails are open every day from dawn until dusk. The nature center building is open to visitors seasonally during the spring/summer/fall.[3]

Astronomy

Neale Woods was home to the Millard Observatory, which was the largest public observatory in the Omaha metropolitan area. Astronomy nights were generally held two times per month, between the months of August and May.[4]

Featured telescopes included:

  • 10” Schmidt-Cassegrain
  • 2 - 12” Meade LX 200 GPS
  • 14” Celestron
  • 13” Coulter
  • 8” Meade
  • 3 - 6” telescopes

The Observatory closed in 2013 [5] and the equipment moved to the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum.

See also

References
  1. "History". Fontenelle Forest. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  2. Neale Woods Nature Center (PDF) (Map). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-26. Retrieved 2013-04-26.
  3. "Visit". Fontenelle Forest. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  4. "Astronomy Nights". Fontenelle Forest. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
  5. "Millard Observatory Closes, Equipment Moves". WOWT News. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
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