Facts about the Nemaha County State Lake

Source: Nemaha County Courier Tribune

Seneca, Kansas

March 22, 1934

To present the issue of the Lake-Park the Nemaha county in an accurate way and to answer numerous questions. The Nemaha County Lake-Park Committee of 22 authorized the following questionnaire:

Can you state briefly what is contemplated in this proposal?

380 acres of the lake, second largest body of water in Kansas, two miles long, nearly a mile wide; the land will be there to create a suitable park about the lake-to be located within a mile of the exact center of the county and the expense of the state Fish and Game department.

What will the lake-park cost Nemaha County?

Not to exceed over $30,000, the county will enter into an agreement with the State Fish and Game commission to take charge of lake, and park and maintain the same from fees which it obtains from the general sale of hunting and fishing licenses. The state maintains 11 other such lakes in this way.

What is this improvement going to cost me?

Nemaha County has an assessed valuation of 32 million dollars. Thirty thousand for the lake-park means a total levy of one mill. A one-mill levy on $1,000 is $1.00. If the levy is spread over a period of five years, your shared should not exceed $0.23 per year.

Why is a government camp to be used?

This project is not possible unless it is a government camp. The government will furnish 200 or more workers. They are already in the camps and must have work to do. Each man labor a day is worth $1.00 a day, the government's allotment for labor on this project would figure more than $50,000 a year. This is a two-year program. There are no funds available to hire $75,000 to $100,00 of local labor.

Will I have pay to enter the park-to enjoy its privileges?

Certainly not. If you fish, you will, of course, have to buy a one-dollar fishing license. You would have to have such a license to fish anywhere else though. If you rent a boat or bathing suit, you would expect to pay for such a service. You can picnic and camp on the State Park grounds without any fee what so ever. The park would be public land. All state parks are open and free to the public.

We would like to give special thanks to the Courier Tribune, Seneca Kansas for granting permission to web publish this article.