Benedict Prairie consists of 6-acres of virgin prairie in Kenosha County, WI on what was once a railroad right of way on the old Kenosha-Silver Lake-Beloit branch line of the Chicago Northwestern Railroad. Recently Dan Carter of the Prairie Enthusiasts spotted Waxy-leaved meadow-rue (Thalictrum revolutum) in an area recently cleared, which hasn’t been seen since on the property since.1993. The site has a remarkably diverse flora, and a vascular plant species list is available. The prairie is periodically burned, as recently as the spring of 2023. Woody vegetation on the prairie is cut regularly. Benedict Prairie is so named for the Elmer Benedict Family who owned the property in the 1940’s after the evacuation of the railroad.

UWM Land Acknowledgement: We acknowledge in Milwaukee that we are on traditional Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk and Menominee homeland along the southwest shores of Michigami, North America’s largest system of freshwater lakes, where the Milwaukee, Menominee and Kinnickinnic rivers meet and the people of Wisconsin’s sovereign Anishinaabe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida and Mohican nations remain present.   |   To learn more, visit the Electa Quinney Institute website.