By ADAM STEWART

Staff writer

With its history as a Civilian Conservation Corps project, Marion County Park and Lake has been nominated for inclusion in the Eight Wonders of Kansas History.

Marion County Economic Development Director Teresa Huffman nominated the lake for an online poll to be conducted by the Kansas Sampler Foundation.

A lot of people know the lake as a good place to fish, Huffman said, but they may not know its history.

Marion County was suffering drought conditions in 1934, and residents approved a $15,000 bond issue to buy land for a lake. From 1936 to 1939, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed the lake and surrounding structures.

The CCC was a program to create jobs and complete conservation projects, including forestry, flood control, erosion prevention, and similar projects. It was among the first programs of President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal.”

The CCC camp that constructed the county lake had its own newspaper, the Cappy Camp Courier. Archives of the newspaper can be found at the lake office.

Whether doing new construction or restoring old buildings, the county tries to maintain the original CCC style at the lake, Park and Lake Director Steve Hudson said.

The nomination is an opportunity to bring people and attention to Marion County, Huffman said.

“It is a huge boost to tourism” to be on one of Kansas Sampler Foundation’s Eight Wonders lists, Huffman said.

“There are a lot of Kansas travelers through the Kansas Sampler Foundation, and they travel,” she said.

Voting on the 24 finalists will take place April 22 through June 15 on the foundation’s Web site, www.kansassampler.org.