Shakamak State Park
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| Shakamak | |
| Designation | State Park |
| Location | Indiana USA |
| Nearest Cities | Jasonville, Indiana |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 1,766 acres |
| Date of Establishment | 1929 |
| Governing Body | Indiana DNR |
Shakamak State Park is a state park in Indiana, United States. It is located 30 miles southeast of Terre Haute, Indiana.
Shakamak's main attraction is its excellent fishing. Shakamak has several outdoor recreational activities such as swimming, hiking, paddle boating, row boating, camping, fishing, and horseback riding. The park offers rentals for cabins and campsites and is located just 3 miles from Jasonville, Indiana
[edit] History
Shakamak State Park was dedicated on September 3, 1928.
The land was donated for a state park from the counties of Clay, Greene and Sullivan. The name "Shakamak" was chosen by the park's founders. The word is said to mean "river of the long fish" in the language of either the Delaware (Lenape) or Kickapoo Indians, and was said to be used by them to describe the nearby Eel River. The park founders simply adopted the name for the park long after any Delaware departed the area well over 100 years before in 1819.[1]
The first lake of Shakamak Park was created by the stopping up of a 5 foot sewer and additional lakes were added in following years (30 years later in the case of Lake Kickapoo). There were no lakes in the area prior to that time. It was purposely stocked with bass by Richard Lieber in May 1930, starting the park's fame for fishing in July 1932 after sufficient time had passed for the two started bass to produce enough fish for there to be enough to fish for.[2] Further development of the park also happened with the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Shakamak hosted many Mid-States AAU Championship Swim Meets, drawing a huge attendance. A floating platform and a 5 and 10 meter diving platform (called the "16" and "32" by local swimmers preferring to measure the heights approximately in feet) was created for the meets and remained open and in use by the general swimming public until the 1990s when Shakamak lake was closed to swimming and a swimming pool was constructed.
The park is located approximately three miles from Jasonville, Indiana, a town with the motto of "The Gateway to Shakamak".
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.in.gov/dnr/history/ Official (Indiana) DNR Historical Timeline
- ^ Shakamak State Park Indiana Swimming Pier History
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