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Waterloo: Tales from the Past, part II

Courtesy photo. Sylvan Estates Country Club House on McClure Road in 1935. Now the park headquarters.
Courtesy photo. Sylvan Estates Country Club House on McClure Road in 1935. Now the park headquarters.

(Chelsea Update would like to thank Tom Hodgson and the Waterloo Natural History Association for the information in this column)

A change in the making …

At the turn of the last century Waterloo began attracting vacationers. General storekeeper Lynn Gorton advertised the resort advantages of Waterloo, as well as the benefit of shopping at his general store.

The Sylvan Estates Country Club on McClure Road had its own airport and catered to the wealthy who flew in for a round of golf, then it succumbed during the Great Depression. Part of the club house burned down, but what remained of the original structure is now the Park’s Area Headquarters building.

Courtesy photo. Entrance of Big Portage Lake under construction in 1936.
Courtesy photo. Entrance of Big Portage Lake under construction in 1936.

An increasing number of area farms failed as well, reaching a peak in 1933. In response to these failures, the federal government created the Federal Resettlement Administration to purchase these lands and move the farmers to the cities where they might have a better chance of finding work.

The land was to be developed for recreation.  In the final determination, 46 recreational demonstration areas in 24 states were set aside for development with the intent to provide recreational opportunities near the most populated areas. Waterloo was chosen because it was within a two-hour drive or less from several major cities including Ann Arbor, Jackson, Detroit, Pontiac, and Flint.

In 1934, the Waterloo Project was conceived. By 1936, about 11,998 acres of marginal farm land had been purchased for recreational use for a total cost of $277,786.08, or about $23 per acre. The area was called the Waterloo Recreational Demonstration Area.

Courtesy photo. The dike at Big Portage Lake in 1936.
Courtesy photo. The dike at Big Portage Lake in 1936.

In 1936, development and management of the area was turned over to the National Park Service.  In 1937, National Park Service acting project manager Frank R. Coburn wrote of the importance of having more than city parks within a reasonable distance from cities. The N.P.S. planted over 350,000 trees in Waterloo covering 1,000 acres, and the Federal government spent over $2 million improving Waterloo for recreational and game refuge purposes.

Much of the labor needed to complete projects at Waterloo and other recreation areas came from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  These workers were soon moved to northern areas and replaced by Works Progress Administration (WPA) workers, the majority from the city of Jackson.

The project employed an average of 322 workers, each earning about $62 per month. Although most were laborers or tradesmen, some unemployed photographers were also hired to document the work.

The images in this article were taken by them and placed in a photo album that was kept at the park headquarters for many years.

Courtesy photo. Dredging Portage Lake swimming area 1936.
Courtesy photo. Dredging Portage Lake swimming area 1936.

BIG PORTAGE LAKE UNIT:  The largest unit in the Waterloo Recreation Area was constructed in the early 1930s. This was a massive project that included raising the water level of Big Portage Lake and isolating it from the portage river system.  Yards of muck were sucked from the shore line and replaced with sand to form the beach and swimming area.

W.P.A. workers constructed the campground, public beach, bath-house and picnic area, and the original bath house served the public for nearly 70 years. The beach, picnic grounds and campground are still in use today. The campground has been modernized and the bath house has been replaced.

President Roosevelt’s “New Deal” programs not only provided jobs for those victims of the Great Depression, but built a lasting legacy of recreation areas still in use today.

Without these programs Waterloo Recreation Area, the largest state park in the Lower Peninsula, would not exist and millions of potential park visitors would have been deprived of the wonderful experiences it offers.

In case you missed part one, here’s a link so you can catch up. Next week, Part III.

Courtesy photo. Bath house under construction at Big Portage Lake in 1936.
Courtesy photo. Bath house under construction at Big Portage Lake in 1936.
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