Wyandotte County Lake Park, courtesy of Google Maps.
Wyandotte County Lake Park, in Kansas City, Kansas, is a 407-acre lake that provides 1,500 acres of wooded area. The park provides a marina, fishing areas, playgrounds, 11 miles of hiking trails, the F.L. Schlagle Library and Environmental Center, a public boat ramp, boat rentals, picnic areas, and drinking water. Multiple shelters are available for public use and rental. The park requires a local permit to fish.
Located in the Missouri River Basin, the dam was built to create jobs and provide a source of water for the community. It was funded jointly by the Works Progress Administration and the Wyandotte County government.
Wyandotte County Lake Park was conceived in the early 1930s, when Wyandotte County faced the challenges of the Great Depression and drought-induced water scarcity. After much discussion, the Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution on September 24, 1935, to purchase 1,400 acres of land near Marshall Creek to build a county lake and park. Simultaneously solving the problems of a lack of jobs and a lack of water. It was funded jointly by President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal’s Works Progress Administration and the Wyandotte County government.
Construction of Wyandotte County Lake.
In July 1936, the first of a number of strikes took place, as the Works Progress Administration laborers demanded a raise. They also demanded that only Wyandotte County residents be hired, at least until the labor pool ran dry. Although it was resolved, it proved not to be the end of the strikes.
On September 19, 1937, when the dam was 90% complete and with water about 30 feet in the adjacent lake, several motorists sightseeing on a nearby road noticed a crack in the pavement. They quickly fled before the dam collapsed in a massive landslide comprised of 300,000 pounds of earth that fell 50 feet, causing the land to the north to shift and close a 16-foot drainage ditch. The collapse also made the highway over the spillway impassible.
Afterward, the Works Progress Administration and Wyandotte County officials put the project on hold while they tried to figure out what to do. Rebuilding started nine months later at the end of July 1938 with the new dam just south of the dirt pile where the first dam once stood. It was completed in 1942.
Several park buildings, such as the Davis Recreation Hall, were designed by the National Park Service and built by the Works Progress Administration between 1936 and 1943. The structures are representative examples of the Rustic style.
Today, the lake is continuously busy with anglers, boaters, and hikers. Fishing enthusiasts enjoy catching wiper, walleye, bass, catfish, and crappie. Birders from all over eastern Kansas come out to the lake to see the migrating waterfowl.
Contact Wyandotte County Unified Government Parks and Recreation at 913-573-8327 for more information.
The lake and park are located at 91st and Leavenworth Road in Kansas City, Kansas.
Davis Hall at Wyandotte County Lake, courtesy Friends of Lake Wyandotte.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated September 2025.
Also See:
Wyandotte County Photo Gallery
Sources:
Friends of the Lake Wyandotte
Humanities Kansas
Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
Living New Deal
Travel Kansas
Visit Kansas City