Lapham Peak is a

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

state park located in the

Kettle Moraine State Forest The Kettle Moraine State Forest is a state forest in southeastern Wisconsin. The chief feature of the reserve is the Kettle Moraine, a highly glaciated area. The area contains very hilly terrain and glacial landforms, such as kettles, kames a ...

. It is just south of Delafield and seven miles (11 km) west of Waukesha. The park entrance is two miles (3 km) north of the Glacial Drumlin State Trail.

Activities

The park includes three picnic areas,

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

, a

butterfly garden Butterfly gardening is a way to create, improve, and maintain habitat for lepidopterans including butterflies, skippers, and moths. Butterflies have four distinct life stages—egg, larva, chrysalis, and adult. In order to support and sustain ...

, a

prairie restoration Prairie restoration is a conservation effort to restore prairie lands that were destroyed due to industrial, agricultural, commercial, or residential development. For example, the U.S. state of Illinois alone once held over of prairie land an ...

area, an amphitheater, and over of dirt and

accessible Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

paved nature trails. A backpacking campsite located beside a four-mile (6 km) segment of the

Ice Age Trail The Ice Age Trail is a National Scenic Trail stretching in the state of Wisconsin in the United States. The trail is administered by the National Park Service, and is constructed and maintained by private and public agencies including the Ice ...

is also in the park. There is a multi-use trail for horse riding, mountain biking, snowshoeing and dog sled training. Over of trails are open in the winter for cross-country skiing. As of 2006, a nature center is under construction.

Lapham Peak

The park takes its name from a hill found within its borders. Lapham Peak has an elevation of above sea level, and is the highest point in

Waukesha County Waukesha County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat and largest city is Waukesha. Waukesha Co ...

. At the top of Lapham Peak is a wooden observation tower that is high and offers a dynamic view of southeastern Wisconsin and the northern edge of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. The Waukesha County Historical Society named the peak in memory of

Increase A. Lapham Increase Allen Lapham (March 7, 1811 – September 14, 1875) was an American author, scientist, and naturalist, whose work focused primarily on the what is now the U.S. state of Wisconsin. He made maps of the area and published numerous books o ...

to honor his efforts in scientific study and his founding of the

United States Weather Bureau The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

History

The Lapham Peak area was formed 10,000 years ago by a glacier that covered much of Wisconsin (see

Wisconsin glaciation The Wisconsin Glacial Episode, also called the Wisconsin glaciation, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated in the northern North American Cord ...

). Examples of moraines,

esker An esker, eskar, eschar, or os, sometimes called an ''asar'', ''osar'', or ''serpent kame'', is a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North Ame ...

s and

kettle A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a type of pot specialized for boiling water, commonly with a ''lid'', ''spout'', and ''handle'', or a small electric kitchen appliance of similar shape that functions in a self-contained ...

s can be found in the park. The peak itself is a moulin kame. The land was developed in 1851 by Charles Hanson as a tourist attraction. He built a tower on top of the hill and charged visitors to picnic and climb the tower. Originally known as Stoney Hill, the hill was later named Government Hill, after the government teams that used it for surveying. In 1870, the

Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army that creates and manages communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of Ma ...

built a signal station to relay data about approaching storms from

Pikes Peak Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The town of Manitou S ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, to

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

ports. Pioneering meteorologist

, who proposed the creation of a

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

, made weather observations here and issued the first published national

weather forecast Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since the 19th cent ...

. The state of Wisconsin purchased the land in 1907 for a

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

sanitarium, which later became the Ethan Allen School for Boys. In 1939, of the land was turned over to the Conservation Department for use as a park. The peak's tower was erected a year later by a crew from the WPA (

Works Project Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, in ...

) who also constructed trails, picnic grounds and benches.

References

External links

Official DNR site

Friends of Lapham Peak

SummerStage in Lapham Peak State Park
{{Protected areas of Wisconsin Protected areas of Waukesha County, Wisconsin Kettle Moraine State Forest Protected areas established in 1985 1985 establishments in Wisconsin