Vermillion almost had a park and artificial lake north of town.

"For a time prospects for a park and artificial lake under a W.P.A. grant generated much interest in the southern part of the county. The idea first emerged in 1933 as a modest project involving a grant of $8,000 for work-relief purposes. During the following year the concept grew in proportion to culminate in a $23,000 grant from the federal agency for a 150-acre lake adjoining the grounds used at the time as the city golf course three miles north of Vermillion."

The quote above is from Herbert S. Schell’s History of Clay County, South Dakota (Vermillion, SD: Clay County Historical Society, 1976), pp. 221-222, CHILSON COLLECTION F657.C6 S34x. Read Schell’s book to find out why the lake was not made. He also tells us about the other Great Depression era federal relief projects proposed or completed in Clay County. I hope you enjoy this book. It is a pleasant read and won an award of merit from the American Association for State and Local History.

The base map is USGS Topographic map Vermillion, SD, scale 1:24,000, 1971 edition.

The location of the dam and golf course is from Topographic Map of Proposed Lake Vermillion, catalog number 2025.16.01 and is located at the W.H. Over Museum. I wonder where the planners envisioned the park.

The Archives and Special Collections staff have created a selected bibliography of histories and other resources about Vermillion, Clay County, Dakota Territory, and South Dakota. It is available online at https://libguides.usd.edu/c.php?g=1109018&p=8086441.