Park Creation
In the 1960s a state park was envisioned on the Mississippi river bluffs in the proximity of a highway bridge which carried many westbound travelers into Minnesota. Legislation authorizing a 1,350-acre (546 ha) park was passed in 1963. The layout was a long, narrow strip along the blufftops between La Crescent and Dresbach, sandwiched between U.S. Route 61 at the foot of the bluffs and a county road atop them. To befit a roadside park, the state highway department was asked to provide a name. They suggested O. L. Kipp State Park after Orin Lansing Kipp, who had worked for them from 1916 to 1955 and helped establish the Minnesota state highway system. However when the state contacted the current private owners of the designated land, they proved unwilling to sell their river views, and none of the property was ever acquired.
However an alternative property to the north appeared which was both better shaped and already owned by the state. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' Division of Forestry had been buying up lots in the region since 1962 for what was to become the Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest. Legislation in 1971 transferred 1,073 acres (434 ha) from the forestry division to the parks division, and O. L. Kipp State Park finally came into being. Development of the modest recreational facilities was slow, and the park officially opened to the public in 1976.
Read more about this topic: Great River Bluffs State Park
Famous quotes containing the words park and/or creation:
“Is a park any better than a coal mine? What’s a mountain got that a slag pile hasn’t? What would you rather have in your garden—an almond tree or an oil well?”
—Jean Giraudoux (1882–1944)
“The very austerity of the Brahmans is tempting to the devotional soul, as a more refined and nobler luxury. Wants so easily and gracefully satisfied seem like a more refined pleasure. Their conception of creation is peaceful as a dream.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)