 Lowden State Park was founded in 1945, a few years after the Eagle's Nest Art Colony vacated the land.In 1943, a year after former Illinois Governor Frank Lowden died, the Illinois House of Representatives Appreciation Committee authorized the purchase of as a memorial to the former governor.The appropriation of $25,000 was matched by the citizens of Oregon, Illinois and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to help purchase the former Eagle's Nest Art Colony.