In 1917, John and Carrie Klock deeded a half mile of lake Michigan frontage to the
    City of Benton Harbor Michigan in memory of their deceased daughter Jean. Their
    gift consisted of 90 acres of globally rare natural resources that included Great Lakes
    Dunes, a Great Lakes Marsh and interdunal wetlands. The donated land was named
    Jean Klock Park and was dedicated "FOR THE CHILDREN" - "in perpetuity" -
    "FOREVER."

    Before he deeded the land, John Klock sent a letter titled, "It Is More Blessed To
    Give Than To Receive", to the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Benton
    Harbor, offering the gift of Jean Klock Park to the City. In that letter, John Klock
    made it clear what he and his wife's intent was in donating the land to the city: "It is
    our wish that the lakefront always be preserved in its natural state and be
    a playground for the children and a bathing beach for all the people."
    John Klock's written offer was followed by the City Council of 1917's resolution
    accepting the gift.

    Through the years the park has been threatened with development proposals and
    survived but in 2003 came the beginning of a new, and at the time, unforeseen
    threat. The city announced an interest in selling a portion of the park’s property for a
    lake-front residential development. A lawsuit took place that was settled out of court
    allowing the development in exchange for permanent protections of the remaining 73
    acres of the park. Within a matter of months it was discovered that there was a
    secret and far bigger interest in developing the park. That interest and ultimate threat
    to the park was of the Whirlpool Corporation’s desire for a Jack Nicklaus
    Signature golf course and a glitzy second home community that would become the
    “Harbor Shores Golf and Beach Club."






















    Two members of the Friends of Jean Klock Park challenged the Michigan Court
    decisions to allow three holes of a privately owned golf course to be constructed
    inside JKP. They continued to allege that the City of Benton Harbor Michigan had
    entered into an illegal lease agreement with Harbor Shores for the Whirlpool driven
    Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Club. By entering into this agreement the City had
    violated not only the terms of the 1917 Klock deed, but also a 2004 Consent
    Judgment that was intended to protect this public park from further privately owned
    development. These atrocious rulings set a disastrous precedent that threatens every
    deed restricted public land in the country!

    The park had further development restrictions due to a federal Land and Water
    Conservation Fund grant the city received for improvements to JKP. With the help
    of Michigan's Governor Granholm and Congressman Fred Upton, every layer of
    state and federal protection that was placed on Jean Klock Park was politically
    undermined.  

    Unfortunately we lost our appeal with the Michigan Supreme Court. But we believe
    that history will show that our cause was just, and right, and that in time the public
    parkland that was lost will be returned.
Save Jean Klock Park

Friends of Jean Klock Park | PO Box 8988 | Benton Harbor, MI 49023
info@savejeanklockpark.org | www.savejeanklockpark.org
© 2009 Friends of Jean Klock Park. All Rights Reserved.