About
Kay’s Ledge is a 64.28-acre private nature preserve in the town of Taycheedah in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, on the Niagara Escarpment about one mile east of Lake Winnebago.
In Wisconsin, the Niagara Escarpment, informally called The Ledge, begins in the Kettle Moraine Sate Forest in Waukesha County and extends northward about 230 miles to the northern tip of Door County, where it forms a rock peninsula extending into Lake Michigan.
Nearly 1,900 feet of The Ledge extends through the southern two-thirds of the property. The northern one-third is a mix of field and forest. The majority of the woodland was former grazing land; the woods on the escarpment slopes are mostly intact.
The preserve includes approximately 50 acres of forest, 11 acres of field, about 1 acre of development, and nearly 2 acres of high-quality wetlands with groundwater seeps and spring-fed creeks, resulting in a diverse mix of habitats that support a wide range of species. Two spring fed creeks, a man-made pond and spring pool, and natural ephemeral ponds further enrich the property’s habitat value.
Kay’s Ledge is owned by the Carolyn A Victor Land Conservancy, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed specifically to protect, enhance and restore the natural, geological and ecological values of the property, and to provide an outdoor classroom for continuing educational value for students and environmental groups.
Kay’s Story
Kay’s Ledge was purchased in 2015 by Carolyn (Kay) Victor to protect it from development for the benefit of wildlife and future generations. Kay had a deep connection with the woods of The Ledge. As a child in the late 1930s and early 1940s, she spent her summers at the family cottage on the northeast end of Lake Winnebago, adjacent to what is now High Cliff State Park in Sherwood, WI. There she explored the woods and cliffs of the Ledge.
Sometime after college, Kay and her husband Stephen (Steve) moved to Fond du Lac and bought 6.5 acres on the ledge east of Fond du Lac where they lived for several years. As a mother, she walked with her six children through the woods of the ledge, took them to her family cottage near the State Park, and taught them what she knew; especially about the spring wildflowers which were dear to her heart.
During her lifetime, Kay witnessed the fragmentation and development of the natural areas of The Ledge along the east side of Lake Winnebago. In her later years, recognizing the value of natural habitat, she wanted to purchase wooded land along The Ledge specifically for conservation. The land she found was intended for residential development but had been taken off the market until a legal dispute over a fuel oil spill in the house that was located on the property was resolved. Kay took advantage of the situation and made an offer on the property; a year later it became hers. Unfortunately, Kay was never able to explore her woods on the ledge due to frail health, but she avidly listened to her children describe what they saw and looked at the photos they took for her.
After Kay passed away in 2017, the land, which was inherited by her husband Steve, was donated to the Carolyn A. Victor Land Conservancy, Inc. Today Kay and Steve’s children manage the conservancy and the property carrying on Kay’s wishes that the property be protected as a nature preserve.
Kay's Ledge 