More than 5,000 people flocked to Lake Shawnee when it opened for fishing on Sept. 3, 1939.
This week's History Guy video at CJOnline focuses on that lake at 3137 S.E. 29th, which the federal Works Progress Administration began working to create in 1935.
County park services director Randy Luebbe talks about the lake and its history in this week's History Guy podcast by Tim Hrenchir.
During its first two decades, Lake Shawnee was used primarily for fishing, swimming, boating and sailing.
In 1960, the Shawnee County Amateur Baseball Association was organized and began playing at diamonds located there.
The county in 1961 hired Ted Ensley as its park superintendent while arranging for Ensley and his family to live in a house on the lake's west side. The county that year also created a "Lake Shawnee Junior" just west of the lake.