NORTHWEST TERRITORY: Lake Wedington celebrates triple anniversaries

LITTLE ROCK — An open house Saturday at Lake Wedington Recreation Area near Fayetteville celebrated three anniversaries: the 100th of the Ozark National Forest, the 70th of the park and the 20th of the volunteer group that helped rescue the park from neglect.

The centennial anniversary hearkens back to 1908, when President Theodore Roosevelt issued the proclamation to establish the Ozark National Forest.

The original 900,000 acres set aside as national forest land has since grown to 1.1 million acres of public land that to this day defines the outdoor character of the Ozark region.

Today, the forest includes six wild and scenic rivers, five wilderness areas, six scenic byways, more than 300 miles of trails and many developed recreation areas located around lakes, streams, mountaintops and underground caverns.

Development of the forest as a major recreational resource began during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when President Franklin Roosevelt formed the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps to provide jobs through projects on public lands.

Many of the parks and recreation areas in the Ozark National Forest were built during the 1930s, including Lake Wedington Recreation Area, a WPA project that began around 1935.

The workers first built a stone dam to create a 102-acre lake that was the largest public lake in Northwest Arkansas at the time. Using native stone and timber, the skilled workers also surrounded the lake with a lodge, bathhouse, six cabins and picnic and camping areas.

After three years of work, the recreation area was opened to the public on April 30, 1938. It was a popular spot for swimming, fishing, picnicking and camping from the 1940s to the 1960s, but had gradually deteriorated as a neglected stepchild of the Ozark National Forest by the late 1980s.

In 1988, Ann Wiggans Sugg, thedaughter of the park’s original project manager, got together with other volunteers associated with the early history of the park to form the Friends of Wedington.

Dedicated to preserving the park, the small group of volunteers first worked with Navy Seabees to restore the park’s six cabins. Over a 20-year period, the group also spearheaded other Wedington preservation projects with the help of area civic organizations, corporations and volunteer groups.

During the Saturday ceremony, Sugg and other original members of the Friends of Wedington were honored with commemorative plaques presented by Judith Henry, supervisor of the Ozark National Forest.

Sugg also cut the ribbon to dedicate the recreation area’s new entrance, recently constructed as part of extensive renovations and improvements to the park’s facilities initiated by forest officials.

With the aim of converting Wedington from run-down to showcase, the Ozark National Forest has spent about $750,000 on the park during the past year, says Greg Miller, who oversees recreation areas in the forest’s Boston Mountain Ranger District in Northwest Arkansas.

Now completely under Ozark National Forest management on a year-round basis, recent improvements at Wedington include renovation of the bathhouse and the resurfacing of parking lots and roads.

Two full-time park employees, Barbara Leimer and Robert Wyatt, have been hired, and the park’s new Web site at www.fs.fed.us/oonf/ recreation/lake_wedington provides information and photos on all the park has to offer.

Future improvements will include renovation of the lodge, boathouse and summer cabins, and the expansion of camping areas.

The park is open Thursdays-Mondays through May 23 and will be open daily May 24-Oct. 31.

More information is available by calling (479) 442-3527.