The History of Lakeside Park

Today, Lakeside Park provides a place for picnics and parties. It is where many families spend beautiful summer afternoons. Others take long walks along the shores of Lake Winnebago. This park has been a place where people have come to relax and enjoy themselves for many years.

Did you ever wonder what that land might have looked like long ago? Do you know who or what lived there before it became Lakeside Park? Long before Fond du Lac was a city, the land surrounding this place where the Fond du Lac River empties into Lake Winnebago was all marshland. Cattails and tall grasses provided a home for thousands of ducks and other birds. Muskrats and many other animals lived there, too. The Winnebago Indians lived near by and fished and hunted there.

After the European settlers came to the area, they began to develop cities. In 1835, the marshy land was bought and the city of Fond du Lac began to grow around it. Many people began to think that the marshlands were useless. We know today that marshlands are very useful. They hold water and prevent flooding. They also filter the water which runs through them, and this keeps the lake cleaner. However, the early people of Fond du Lac did not realize how valuable marshlands were. They saw the marshes as a "waste of space." They thought that if they drained the water out of the wetlands, they could build on it and it and this would improve the city. As the wetlands disappeared, so did the many birds and animals that lived there.

Leaders in the city did think that this land along the lake was beautiful, and they decided to turn it into a place that many people could easily get to for recreation. In 1896, Lakeside Park was started. Roads were built so that it was easy to get there. The lake provided a perfect place for swimming. A swimming school was opened and many people took lessons there. A large water slide was built and the park was a very popular place. In 1900, a bandstand was built so that concerts could be held. Picnics, parades and parties were very common at Lakeside Park 100 years ago.

Today, Lakeside Park still provides a place for fun. The swimming school and the water slide had to be torn down because the lake had become so polluted. It was not safe to swim in Lake Winnebago. In recent years, many have helped to clean up the lake and the water quality has improved. We now realize that the wetlands that once covered all of Lakeside Park were very important for Lake Winnebago. Some marshy areas were not destroyed and still remain for you to see. You can visit them to observe wildlife.

 

A Man Who Thought Ahead

Alfred Sutherland was a person who thought ahead. He thought about the people who would live after he died. He wanted people to enjoy the touch of the wind, the chirping of the birds, and the sight of the sunset over the water.

Mr. Sutherland lived in Fond du Lac, and he loved this area at the south end of Wisconsin's largest inland lake. To share it with others, he thought it would be good to have parks and wildlife areas. He had to ask: How does a park get started? Who decides to set aside land for wildlife?

Making a park is a big job. He could not do things alone. He needed to work with other people, so he became a member of a conservation group.

With the help of many people, Mr. Sutherland was successful. One of the parks he helped provide is called Calumet Harbor, on the east shore of Lake Winnebago. Mr. Sutherland was also able to get the government to protect Eldorado Marsh, a wildlife area east of Fond du Lac. Today this area is a hunting area with many birds.

Mr. Sutherland once said, "People do not realize what nature has done, or what it can do if left alone."

Source: Fond du Lac Reporter, March 13, 1989 and April 4, 1974. Also, Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame, Stevens Point.