Lacey-Keosauqua State Park
| Lacey-Keosauqua State Park | |
| Iowa State Park | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Iowa |
| County | Van Buren |
| Location | Keosauqua |
| - elevation | 732 ft (223 m) |
| - coordinates | 40°42′37″N 91°58′53″W / 40.71028°N 91.98139°WCoordinates: 40°42′37″N 91°58′53″W / 40.71028°N 91.98139°W |
| Area | 1,653 acres (669 ha) |
| Founded | 1921 |
| Management | Iowa Department of Natural Resources |
  Location of Lacey-Keosauqua State Park in Iowa
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| Website: [1] | |
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Lacey-Keosauqua State Park
Lodge and Picnic Area (Area A) Picnic and Custodial Group (Area B) Bathing Area (Area C) |
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| Built | 1933-1936 |
| Built by | Civilian Conservation Corps |
| Architect | Central Design Office, Ames |
| Architectural style | Rustic |
| MPS | CCC Properties in Iowa State Parks MPS |
| NRHP Reference # |
900016681 90001669 90001670 |
| Added to NRHP | November 15, 1990 |
Lacey-Keosauqua State Park is located southwest of Keosauqua, Iowa, United States. Located along the Des Moines River in Van Buren County, it was dedicated in 1921. It is the largest state park in size in Iowa. In 1990 three areas were named nationally recognized historic districts and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A group of local citizens contributed $64,000 to buy the land, which had been a large farm. The state acquired the land in 1920, and dedicated it as Big Bend Park the following year. In 1923 the park had 1,222.1 acres (494.6 ha), it grew to 1,526.45 acres (617.73 ha) by 1935, and 2,209.85 acres (894.29 ha) in 1942. The park currently has 1,653 acres (669 ha), making it the largest state park in Iowa. It was renamed in 1926 in honor of John Fletcher Lacey, an American Civil War veteran who went on to serve in both the Iowa House of Representatives and the United States House of Representatives, representing Iowa's 6th congressional district. He was noted for conservation legislation while in Congress and was instrumental in establishing the state park system in Iowa. By 1933 a lodge and a golf course, no longer extant, had been developed in the northwest part of the park.
Several government agencies worked at Lacey-Keosauqua to develop the park in the 1930s and the 1940s. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 770 arrived in the park on May 28, 1933. They worked with the National Forest Service landscaping and with soil erosion control along the steep river bluffs until October 11 of the same year, when it was transferred to the National Park Service. They continued their work in the park until October 23, 1934. Company 770's primary responsibility was the construction of the earthen dam and concrete spillway to create the man-made lake. CCC Company 2719 began work on August 20, 1934 and stayed until October 1935. Most of the trails were completed in 1934. The National Forest Service and both companies of the CCC built the various buildings. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) worked in the park building the foot and vehicle bridges and other other small projects from December 1935 to April 1936. A National Park Service Camp began working in the park in June 1936 and remained until April 1937 or possibly into early 1938. The state of Iowa built two of the six existing cabins between 1940 and 1942, and completed the others sometime after 1942.
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