the annual Schützenfest. The Dr. Charles M. Wright House is a Victorian style home built in 1889 by Dr. C.M. Wright on a tract on upper North Main Street, where there had been a two-story frame house that was the Wright family home. Wright planned the house himself but the final design (with Wright's approval) was by Edwardsville, Illinois, architect, C. H. Spilman. The builder was Charles Hanker of Toledo, Illinois, for a $17,965 with the owner furnishing the materials. The total cost, not including furnishings, was approximately $35,000. The house has 18 furnished rooms, including seven bedrooms. On May 8, 1986, the house was put on the National Register of Historic Places. Ballard Nature Center is a nature preserve and educational center located east of Altamont. It includes of woodland, of restored prairie, of shallow water wetlands and of agricultural land. Ernie Ballard donated for the site of a nature center and the funds to construct a visitor center. He developed a non-profit 501 (C) 3 foundation, in August 1999, to oversee development and management of the center. Construction of the log building began in October 1999. It opened to the public in July 2000. In 2014, the Glen Mathias family donated another 7 acres of land adjacent to the original 210 acres. Parks and recreation Altamont has three parks. Gilbert Park, named after Ray Gilbert, Mayor of Altamont from 1971 to 1979, is the largest of Altamont's parks. It has four baseball/softball diamonds, an indoor batting cage, playground equipment and soccer field, and a nine-hole disc golf course. Schmidt Park has picnic pavilions and playground equipment. W.C. Klitzing Memorial Heritage Park, often called simply Heritage Park and known to some as "The Train Park," is named after former mayor, school board member, and City Attorney Walter C. Klitzing. It has play equipment, a skateboard area, several covered picnic tables, a basketball court, and restrooms. There is also "The Triangle," a garden and pavilion space between North Second Street, North Main Street, and West Washington Avenue in downtown Altamont. The Triangle features benches, flower beds, a flagpole, and a covered pavilion which often hosts bake sales and cookouts for community organizations to host fundraisers. Government The City of Altamont is governed by an elected mayor and city council of four members. Most recent mayoral and city council elections were in April 2015, those terms all expire in 2019. Currently,