Lac qui Parle State Park is a Minnesota state park near Watson. Lac qui Parle is a French translation of the native Dakota name, meaning "lake which speaks". In the 19th century, the first dictionary of the Dakota language was written, and part of the Bible was translated into that language for the first time at a mission on the site of the park.

The state park was built as part of the Lac qui Parle Flood Control Project. Lac qui Parle Lake is a widening of the Minnesota River, and the flood control project involved building a dam at the south end of the lake. The dam was constructed by the Works Progress Administration, and other projects were built along the lake. Besides the dam and the state park, other projects included the Watson Wayside, Lac qui Parle Parkway, and the reconstruction of the Chippewa Lac qui Parle Mission. Three structures are included in the National Register of Historic Places, including the Model Shelter, which houses a relief map (cast in reinforced concrete) of the Lac qui Parle Flood Control System and the Minnesota River Valley; the kitchen shelter; and the sanitation building.

References

• Rustic Style Resources in Minnesota State Parks: Lac qui Parle State Park

External links

• Lac qui Parle State Park at the Minnesota Historical Society
• Lac qui Parle State Park website - Minnesota Department of Natural Resources