Lac Qui Parle State Park
Encyclopedia
Lac qui Parle State Park is a Minnesota
state park near Watson
. Lac qui Parle is a French
translation of the native Dakota
name, meaning "lake which speaks". In the 19th century, the first dictionary of the Dakota language
was written, and part of the Bible
was translated into that language for the first time at a mission on the site of the park.
The state park was built as part of the Lac qui Parle Flood Control Project. Lac qui Parle Lake
is a widening of the Minnesota River
, and the flood control project involved building a dam at the south end of the lake. The dam was constructed by the Works Progress Administration
, and other projects were built along the lake. Besides the dam and the state park, other projects included the Watson Wayside, Lac qui Parle Parkway, and the reconstruction of the Chippewa Lac qui Parle Mission. Three structures are included in the National Register of Historic Places
, including the Model Shelter, which houses a relief map (cast in reinforced concrete) of the Lac qui Parle Flood Control System and the Minnesota River Valley; the kitchen shelter; and the sanitation building.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
state park near Watson
Watson, Minnesota
Watson is a city in Chippewa County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 205 at the 2010 census. Lac Qui Parle State Park is nearby.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.U.S...
. Lac qui Parle is a French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
translation of the native Dakota
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
name, meaning "lake which speaks". In the 19th century, the first dictionary of the Dakota language
Dakota language
Dakota is a Siouan language spoken by the Dakota people of the Sioux tribes. Dakota is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the Lakota language.-Dialects:...
was written, and part of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
was translated into that language for the first time at a mission on the site of the park.
The state park was built as part of the Lac qui Parle Flood Control Project. Lac qui Parle Lake
Lac qui Parle
Lac qui Parle is a reservoir located in western Minnesota, United States, which was formed by the damming of the Minnesota River. The dam was built by the Works Progress Administration . Lac qui Parle is a French translation of the native Dakota name, meaning "lake which speaks".The northernmost...
is a widening of the Minnesota River
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of nearly , in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa....
, and the flood control project involved building a dam at the south end of the lake. The dam was constructed by the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
, and other projects were built along the lake. Besides the dam and the state park, other projects included the Watson Wayside, Lac qui Parle Parkway, and the reconstruction of the Chippewa Lac qui Parle Mission. Three structures are included in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, including the Model Shelter, which houses a relief map (cast in reinforced concrete) of the Lac qui Parle Flood Control System and the Minnesota River Valley; the kitchen shelter; and the sanitation building.
External links
- Lac qui Parle State Park at the Minnesota Historical Society
- Lac qui Parle State Park website - Minnesota Department of Natural Resources