Waterloo State Recreation Area
| Waterloo State Recreation Area | |
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Markla Lake access walking path
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 Location within the state of Michigan
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| Location | Jackson / Washtenaw counties, Michigan, USA |
| Nearest city | Chelsea, Michigan |
| Coordinates | 42°21′41″N 84°11′27″W / 42.36139°N 84.19083°WCoordinates: 42°21′41″N 84°11′27″W / 42.36139°N 84.19083°W |
| Area | 21,000 acres (85 km2) |
| Governing body | Michigan Department of Natural Resources |
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Waterloo State Recreation Area is the third-largest park in Michigan, encompassing over 21,000 acres (85 km2) of forest, lakes and wetlands. Located in northeast Jackson County and parts of Washtenaw County, the park is the largest in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and features 4 campgrounds, 11 lakes, a nature center, and over 50 miles (80 km) of trails - some for horses, bicycles, hiking and cross-country skiing. Waterloo SRA includes the Black Spruce Bog Natural Area, a National Natural Landmark and borders the 11,000-acre (45 km2) Pinckney Recreation Area on the east and the 950-acre (3.8 km2) Phyllis Haehnle Memorial Audubon Sanctuary to the west. The land preserved by the park is not all contiguous and numerous private landholdings and roads run through the park area. The area is characterized by moraines, kettle lakes, swamps and bogs left by retreating glaciers after the last ice age. The park was created by the federal government during the Great Depression and is long-term leased to the state.
The Waterloo area was first settled in the 1830s but the ground was poorly suited for farming and during the Great Depression large numbers of farms were abandoned or in financial trouble. The Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works studied the creation of a variety of kinds of parks in several states. The lands were transferred to the Resettlement Administration of the Department of Agriculture in 1935. In 1935-1936, 45 recreational demonstration projects were established including 12,000 acres (49 km2) at Waterloo. These areas were sited in marginal areas near large population centers to provide outdoor recreation actitivies and temporary employment. Most of the sites had CCC camps, Works Progress Administration workers and other "relief workers". Permanent organized family, industrial and youth camps, roads, trails, park facilities buildings and bathing facilities were constructed. Waterloo had three permanent camps: the Cedar Lake, Mill Lake and Cassidy Lake camps. Mill Lake served inner-city youth and Cassidy Lake was a year-round trade school before being converted to its current use as a prison in 1942. Camp Waterloo began as a CCC camp, then served to train military police and as a German POW camp during World War II. It later became a low security prison. Sylvan Pond was created when the WPA put in a dam and levees at Cassidy Lake raised its water level permanently. The clubhouse of former Sylvan Estates Country Club is the current park headquarters.
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Wikipedia