14-562: Richard Bong State Recreation Area is a 4,515-acre (1,827 ha) unit of the state park system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin . It is located in the town of Brighton , in Kenosha County . This managed prairie contains 8.3 miles (13 km) of mountain bike trails. Other recreational activities include high power rocketry , swimming, dogsledding , falconry , ATV sports, land sailing , horseback riding , hunting , fishing , camping with amenities, and ultralight aviation . There
28-926: A further 471,329 acres (1,907.40 km ) in Wisconsin's state forests . Several Wisconsin state parks contain resources that have been recognized on a national level. Chippewa Moraine State Recreation Area , Devil's Lake State Park , and Interstate State Park are units of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve , while the Wyalusing Hardwood Forest in Wyalusing State Park is a National Natural Landmark . Two Wisconsin state parks contain National Historic Landmarks , both of which are Native American archaeological sites: Aztalan and Copper Culture . 15 state parks contain
42-488: A state park. In 1899, the legislature approved the purchase of Interstate State Park and it was established on September 20, 1900. Architect John Nolen was hired in 1907 to draft a feasibility plan for a Wisconsin State Parks System and State Parks for Wisconsin was released later that year. The report was the guideline used to set up the state park system. It recommended the creation of four state parks: Dells of
56-581: A total of 23 separate listings on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). These are the two previously mentioned National Historic Landmarks, plus Lake Farms Archaeological District at Capital Springs State Recreation Area , Copper Falls State Park , six individual buildings at Heritage Hill State Historical Park ( Baird Law Office , Cotton House , Fort Howard Hospital , Fort Howard Officers' Quarters , Fort Howard Ward Building , and Tank Cottage ), High Cliff Mounds at High Cliff State Park ,
70-504: Is a wildlife preserve where great egrets , sandhill cranes , and great blue herons are known to nest. The Richard Bong SRA is one of the centerpieces of the proposed Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge . The park is on land once intended for the Richard Bong Air Force Base , whose namesake is World War II veteran aviator Maj. Richard Ira Bong . Part of what was intended to be the 12,500-foot (3,800 m) main airstrip
84-408: Is still visible from aerial photos of the site. Largely due to its name's coincidental allusions to marijuana use, Bong Recreation Area is a frequent target of sign theft . This has led to the manufacturing of T-shirts and sweatshirts bearing the highway exit sign. List of Wisconsin state parks A Wisconsin state park is an area of land in the U.S. state of Wisconsin preserved by
98-469: The Pottawatomie Lighthouse , Rock Island Historic District, Thordarson Estate Historic District, and a water tower. Wisconsin became the first state to have a state park in 1878 when it formed "The State Park". The park consisted of 760 square miles (2,000 km ) in northern Wisconsin (most of present-day Vilas County ). The state owned 50,631 acres (205 km ), which was less than 10% of
112-1213: The Seth Peterson Cottage in Mirror Lake State Park , the Raddatz Rockshelter at Natural Bridge State Park , Stonefield partially within Nelson Dewey State Park , Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Peninsula State Park , the Roche-a-Cri Petroglyphs in Roche-a-Cri State Park , the shot tower in Tower Hill State Park , Whitefish Dunes-Bay View Site in Whitefish Dunes State Park , Wyalusing State Park Mounds Archaeological District in Wyalusing State Park, and four listings in Rock Island State Park :
126-685: The Fox River. His wife, Caroline van der Meulin, covered the pièce-sur-pièce à coulisse work with clapboard and lived there until her death in 1891. In 1908, the cottage was in danger of demolition as the city became more industrial, so it was moved from its original location on 8th Street along the river to Tank Park. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, and in 1976 moved to its current location in Heritage Hill State Historical Park to serve as
140-741: The Wisconsin River, Devil's Lake , Door County's Fish Creek (now Peninsula State Park ) and the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers (now Wyalusing State Park ). Three became state parks, and the fourth became Dells Natural Area in 2005. A State Conservation Commission was formed in 1915 by combining the State Park Board, the State Board of Forestry, the Fisheries Commission, and
154-761: The state Game Warden Department. Tank Cottage Tank Cottage is located within Heritage Hill State Historical Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin . It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and may be the oldest building in Wisconsin. French-Canadian fur trader Joseph Roi built the cottage on the Fox River sometime between 1776 and 1803. He used the pièce-sur-pièce à coulisse technique common in French-Canadian buildings of
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#1732876135081168-612: The state for its natural, historic, or other resources. The state park system in Wisconsin includes both state parks and state recreation areas. Wisconsin currently has 51 state park units, covering more than 60,570 acres (245.1 km ) in state parks and state recreation areas. Each unit was created by an act of the Wisconsin Legislature and is maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources , Division of Parks and Recreation. The Division of Forestry manages
182-699: The time. In 1805, Roi sold the cottage to Jacques Porlier, an ally of the British. During the War of 1812 , the building served as a local headquarters for the British. After the war, Porlier swore allegiance to the United States and in 1820 became chief justice of the Brown County court of the Michigan Territory . In 1850, Norwegian Moravian missionary Nils Otto Tank purchased the cottage and large tract of land along
196-552: The total area. There were few residents in the area. Lumber barons were powerful in the area, and they purchased 2/3 of the state's land at $ 8 per acre. This defeated the purpose of the parks for it didn't save the land from the ax. In 1895, the state legislature created an act which authorized the state governor to examine some land in Polk County at the Dalles of the St. Croix River to become
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