| Summary: | METIGOSHE PARK An original log structure built in the 1930's. a swimming beach with dock and bath house, a boat launching site, numerous nature trails, many camping stalls, and a large number of picnic areas. The genesis of the park began in 1934 when the Federal government offered the State of North Dakota assistance in developing recreational areas by means of W.P.A., C.C.C., and Transient camps. Through efforts of the Bottineau Lion's Club, a transient camp was approved for the park development work at Lake Metigoshe. The only publicly- owned land suitable for this purpose was a section of school land on the northeast side of the lake, and permission was obtained from the State Board of University and School Lands to erect a camp on the southwest corner of the section. The camp was created, work practically completed, and on December 21, 1935 it was turned over to the National Park Service with the State Historical Society cooperating as a State Park authority. All of the facilities were turned over to state control April 25,1936. Legislative action later gave title of the entire school section to the Park Committee of the State Historical Society, subsequently called the North Dakota Park Service. LAKE METIGOSHE Lake Metigoshe, the largest lake in the Turtle Mountains, is one of the largest permanent fresh water lakes in the state. Its area covers approximately 1,520 acres in the United States and 60 acres in Canada. Its meandering shoreline has been estimated 70 miles in length. At high-water level its average depth is 17 ft; maximum depth 23 ft. Six wooded islands add to the charm of the lake. They were known as Bear, Park, Greene, Hart, and Dawson. Dawson Island, the smallest, is about V2 acre in size; Bear island, the largest, contains about 27 acres; Park Island became Masonic Island when it was purchased by the Masonic order in 1905. The name Fish Lake had for a time been applied to it, but that name properly belongs to another lake lying at the east end of the mountains. Members of the U.S. Boundary Commission in 1873-74 named it Lake Farquhar to honor Major F.U. Farquhar, chief astronomer of the survey team, but the appellation did not last. It was James Dawson, trapper-trader and earliest settler, who pressed into use the name "Metigoshe," said to have been derived from the Chippewa phrase "Metigoshe Washegum," which means "Clear lake surrounded by oak trees." It was also Dawson who first recognized the recreational potential of the lake when in 1889 he put out a few boats for hire. In 1890, Lakeview House was built by W.H. Kirk on the west side of the lake. The part log and part frame structure included twenty-three small bedrooms to accommodate vacationers. A sailboat, "The May Queen," was an added attraction. When Arthur Burnett acquired the property, he built half a dozen cottages and a large barn where he cared for the horses of the visitors. There was a place to dance in the loft. Burnett kept boats to hire and a motor propelled scow for tours of the lake and for outdoor dances. He also ran a store where campers could obtain the necessaries and even a few luxuries. With the increase of summer residents, Washegum post office was established there. In 1899 William Emde built Lake Central House about a mile south of the Metigoshe State Park. A stage met the train in Bottineau at regular intervals and rowboats were on hand to take passengers to various points on the lake. The "East Side" property belonged to the Lake Metigoshe Park Association of which the leading stockholders were H.A. Batie, Dr. A.R. McKay, C.L. Newhouse, W.H. Mcintosh, F.W. Cathro, J.C. Stover, C.R. Gleason and V.B. Noble. The grounds, some65 acres surveyed and plotted, under a ninety- nine year lease were occupied by ninety people, many of whom built comfortable summer homes. Here also were several cottages for rent and a store which eventually housed Metigoshe post office. A large hotel and restaurant with tables for fifty people doubled for dancing when cleared. A bath house was erected on a sandy beach nearby where bathing suits could be rented. By 1904, D.I. Todd of Bottineau was selling lots about the lake for $100 each and numerous pleasure boats were appearing on the waters. John Haskett's sailboat, "The Metigoshe" was a 24 footer, fore and aft rigged. There were also eight or ten private launches. In 1906, Captain Thorburn launched "The Washegum" which had been built in Souris. In an impressive ceremony on the afternoon of July 2, John F. Haskett, former editor of the Bottineau Courant, addressed a crowd of 300 saying, "Among the first tests of progress we must place a sense of novelty. When a state or nation reaches a stage where novelties cease, where all things are commonplace, it is because there is no progress. The dead level has been reached; there is stagnation. The next step is decline." Haskett christened the boat and urged the use of the name Metigoshe for the waters it would sail. By 1909, a long distance telephone service was installed, the road from Bottineau to the lake was widened and graded, mail service was conducted on a tri-weekly basis and stages, teams, and automobiles ran daily between the two points. The Bottineau Military Band entertained large crowds on Sunday afternoons, and always the opening and closing of the season was observed by a grand ball. In June 1909, the Great Northern Railway ran a chartered train from Bismarck to Bottineau for a special session of the eleventh legislative assembly to be held at the lake. In later years, the Congregational Church operated a summer camp known as Pilgrim Park on the east side of the lake. The Boy Scouts established their bivouac on Squaw Point where in 1883, F.M. Woodward operated the first sawmill in the country. During the drouth of the 1930s, water receded to such low levels that area farmers took hay from the parched lake bed to sustain their livestock. The lake lost popularity for some years but revival of activity began following the Second World War. Today it has resumed its place as one of the beauty spots of North Dakota. Many people have built permanent dwellings since the establishment of rural electric facilities and improved roads. (37) Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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