Shakamak
Designation	State Park State park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
Location	Indiana Indiana Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...  USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Nearest Cities City A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...	Jasonville, Indiana Jasonville, Indiana Jasonville is a city in Greene County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,222 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bloomington, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
Coordinates	39.17°N 87.24°W
Area Area Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...	1766 acres (7.1 km²)
Date of Establishment	1929
Governing Body	Indiana DNR

Shakamak State Park is a state park

State park

State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...

 in Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is located 30 miles (48.3 km) southeast of Terre Haute, Indiana

Terre Haute, Indiana

Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...

.

Shakamak's main attraction is its excellent fishing. Shakamak has several outdoor recreational activities such as swimming, hiking, paddle boating, row boating, camping, fishing, and horseback riding. The park offers rentals for cabins and campsites and is located just 3 miles (4.8 km) from Jasonville, Indiana

Jasonville, Indiana

Jasonville is a city in Greene County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,222 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bloomington, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

History

Shakamak State Park was dedicated on September 3, 1928.

The land was donated for a state park from the counties of Clay

Clay County, Indiana

Clay County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 26,890. The county seat is Brazil. Clay County is included in the Terre Haute, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :Clay County was formed in 1825...

, Greene

Greene County, Indiana

Greene County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana, and determined by the U.S. Census Bureau to include the mean center of U.S. population in 1930. As of 2010, the population was 33,165. The county seat is Bloomfield....

 and Sullivan

Sullivan County, Indiana

Sullivan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana, and determined by the U.S. Census Bureau to include the mean center of U.S. population in 1940. As of 2010, the population was 21,475. The county seat is Sullivan. Sullivan County is included in the Terre Haute, Indiana,...

. The name "Shakamak" was chosen by the park's founders. The word is said to mean "river of the long fish" in the language of either the Delaware (Lenape) or Kickapoo Indians, and was said to be used by them to describe the nearby Eel River. The park founders simply adopted the name for the park long after any Delaware departed the area well over 100 years before in 1819.

The first lake of Shakamak Park was created by the stopping up of a 5 feet (1.5 m) sewer and additional lakes were added in following years (30 years later in the case of Lake Kickapoo). There were no lakes in the area prior to that time. It was purposely stocked with bass

Bass (fish)

Bass is a name shared by many different species of popular gamefish. The term encompasses both freshwater and marine species. All belong to the large order Perciformes, or perch-like fishes, and in fact the word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning "perch."-Types of basses:*The temperate...

 by Richard Lieber

Richard Lieber

Richard Lieber was a German-American businessman who became the father of the Indiana state parks system. At his death, he could be considered the most powerful spokesman in the United States for the conservation of natural resources.-Early life:He was born into privilege in Düsseldorf, Germany,...

 in May 1930, starting the park's fame for fishing in July 1932 after sufficient time had passed for the two started bass to produce enough fish for there to be enough to fish for. Further development of the park also happened with the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps

Civilian Conservation Corps

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...

. Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) Company 522 was located in the park from 1933 until 1942.
Shakamak hosted many Mid-States AAU Championship Swim Meets, drawing a huge attendance. A floating platform and a 5 and 10 meter diving platform (called the "16" and "32" by local swimmers preferring to measure the heights approximately in feet) was created for the meets and remained open and in use by the general swimming public until the 1990s when Shakamak lake was closed to swimming and a swimming pool was constructed.

The park is located approximately three miles from Jasonville, Indiana, a town with the motto of "The Gateway to Shakamak".