Pattison State Park 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 State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

south of

Superior, Wisconsin , native_name_lang = oj , nickname = , total_type = , motto = , image_skyline = Tower Avenue.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Downtown Superior , ima ...

. Situated on the Black River, the park contains both

Big Manitou Falls Big Manitou Falls is a waterfall on the Black River, a tributary of the Nemadji River. The falls are within Pattison State Park in Douglas County, Wisconsin, about 13 miles south of Superior. At 165 feet, Big Manitou Falls is the highest water ...

, the highest

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

in Wisconsin at , and Little Manitou Falls, which is . Pattison State Park was established in 1920.

History

Pattison State Park is named after Martin Pattison, an early lumber man and miner. In 1879 the company he was working with moved to Superior. After becoming wealthy in the iron mining business, he purchased an entire city block on the harbor where he built the 42-room

Martin Pattison House Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aust ...

, which is now the Fairlawn Mansion and Museum. In 1917 there was a plan to build a "power dam" on the Black River. The dam would have destroyed what is known as the Big Manitou Falls. Pattison took the initiative to save the falls by secretly buying land, in total from different land owners along the river. In 1918 he donated the land to the state which led to Wisconsin dedicating its sixth state park to Martin Pattison on January 20, 1920. Until 1935 Pattison State Park consisted of a small picnic area, some wooden overlooks, pit toilets, and a ranger cabin. On July 25, 1935 the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

(CCC) began renewing the park. The Corps quarried rock and chiseled it into blocks to create the park shelter building, nature center, bathhouse, and former office building. It also drained Interfalls Lake, rerouted the river channel, hauled sand from Lake Superior's shore to make the beach, installed sewer and water systems, removed old roadbeds, planted trees, and landscaped and built three miles of foot trails.

Activities and amenities

*Nature center: The Gitche Gumee Nature Center features exhibits about the park's cultural and natural history, including its wildlife and geology. Guided nature walks are offered, and children's nature exploration backpacks are also available. *Swimming: The park has a sand beach on Interfalls Lake. *Trails: The park's of hiking trails include trails that are used for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Beaver Slide Nature Trail is 2 miles long and circles Interfalls Lake. Logging Camp Trail is 4.7 miles long from which some of the remains of Pattison's old logging camp by the Black River, can be seen. *Camping: The park has 59 family campsites, 18 of them with electric hookups, and 3 backpack sites.

References

External links

Pattison State Park
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources {{authority control Protected areas of Douglas County, Wisconsin State parks of Wisconsin Protected areas established in 1920 Nature centers in Wisconsin 1920 establishments in Wisconsin