Шетек көлі мемлекеттік паркі: тарих пен табиғаттың тоғысуы

Lake Shetek State Park is a state park of Minnesota, United States, on Lake Shetek, which is the largest lake in southwestern Minnesota and the headwaters of the Des Moines River. It is most popular for water recreation and camping. However the park also contains historical resources related to the Dakota War of 1862, including an original log cabin and a monument to 15 white settlers killed there and at nearby Slaughter Slough on August 20, 1862. The park and lake were developed by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. Two districts of park structures built in the National Park Service rustic style are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Lake Shetek State Park occupies on the east shore of Lake Shetek in northeastern Murray County, 4 mile (6 km) outside the town of Currie. The park is about 13 mile (21 km) equidistant from both Tracy to the north and Slayton to the southwest, and 33 mile (53 km) southeast of the city of Marshall. Southwest of the drainage basin of the Des Moines River there are no natural lakes for some distance. For this reason the state park attracts many visitors from neighboring parts of Iowa and South Dakota.

Lake Shetek and the surrounding landscape of wetlands and rolling hills are the result of glaciation. The lake and park lie on the Altamont Moraine, a terminal moraine marking the farthest extent of an ice lobe during the Wisconsin glaciation. This most recent glaciation deposited a very thick blanket of till over the area.

Prior to European cultivation, most of the future park was prairie. Settlers recorded that the only trees were on Lake Shetek's islands, which were protected from wildfires. They were not protected from the settlers, however, and were soon harvested. Waterfowl include ducks, herons, coots, grebes, and white pelicans, and many species breed in the area. The park's two major geographic features are both named after birds. "Shetek" is derived from the Ojibwe language word for pelican. On August 20, 1862, two bands of Dakota led by Lean Grizzly Bear and White Lodge swept through the settlement, killing two men while letting the others flee. The settlers gathered at the southernmost cabin, where the leader of a third band, Old Pawn, offered them escape if they left behind their belongings for the other Dakota to loot. The whites headed east but the angry Dakota soon appeared and fired on the group. John Eastlick shot and killed Lean Grizzly Bear, and the settlers took cover in a slough. The Dakota fired into the slough over several hours, killing John Eastlick and others and wounding many more. Old Pawn promised safety to the women and children, but violence erupted again as they emerged from the slough and several were killed while others were taken captive. 21 settlers lived through the attack at the slough and made their way across the prairie to safety. Three women and eight or nine children were captured and taken west. Two months after the attack a military burial detail interred the victims in a temporary mass grave near the slough. A year later the remains were reburied closer to the lake, where they still lie. It was moved into the state park in 1962 In addition to park amenities, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) planned to build six causeways across the lake, joining a series of islands with the east and west shores. The site was selected for recreational development due to the rarity of lakes in the area and to relieve heavy use of Camden State Park 30 mile (48 km) away. Although the monument site was technically made a state park in 1929, the parks director felt reauthorization was needed for the new acreage under development. At his behest Lake Shetek was included in the ten state parks authorized by the Minnesota Legislature in 1937. Two buildings at the Zuya Group Center were listed in a district: the 1940 mess hall and 1941 crafts & recreation building. The hillside beachhouse and 6 feet (2 m) curving double staircase are particularly noteworthy. Historian David R. Benson has called it "one of the most attractive designs in the park system." Beginning in 2010 the state added a new campground with electric and water hookups for RVs and remodeled the existing campground. The lakeside Wolf Point Campground, renamed the Oak Woods Campground, was reduced from 78 sites to 42 to provide more privacy and reduce surface runoff into Lake Shetek.

Lake Shetek State Park is a gateway to water recreation on Lake Shetek. The park provides launch facilities for motorboats and canoes, and rents out non motorized watercraft. Portage trails provide access to two smaller lakes within the park. A swimming area lies at the foot of the beachhouse. Game fish in Lake Shetek include walleye, northern pike, perch, bullhead, crappie, and channel catfish. In winter ice fishing for crappies is popular. The park contains 70 drive in campsites spread across three separate campgrounds. All but six sites have electrical hookups. The Oak Woods Campground also offers four camper cabins, eight cart in sites for tenters, flush toilets, and showers. Elsewhere in the park there is a group camp accommodating up to 30 people in tents and a one more cart in site. The park boasts 14 mile (23 km) of hiking trails, including a 1.5 mile (2 km) interpretive trail across the causeway and around Loon Island. A 6 mile (10 km) paved loop—designated a section of the Casey Jones State Trail—runs between the park and Currie, accommodating joggers, bicyclists, and inline skaters. In winter 5 mile (8 km) are open to snowmobiles. A small visitor center houses interpretive displays. The restored Koch Cabin contains period accurate furnishings and is open to visitors during business hours. The Eastlick Marsh on the east side of the park boasts an observation deck with a spotting scope to aid in birdwatching.