More than one hundred parks, waysides, monuments, historic sites, and trails are operated by the State of Minnesota, reflecting a vision urged in 1889 by state geologist and archaeologist Newton H. Winchell for a system of public parks that would serve people, including those living in cities. These parks preserve portions of Minnesota's varied topography, from forests and prairies to wetlands and lakes, and they present the state's geological story of continental seas, numerous glaciers, and later erosion. They also preserve much of the area's history through resources such as Native American earthworks, military forts, a lighthouse, and many other historic places and structures, including stone and wooden buildings constructed in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps. Efforts to preserve some of the state's natural resources and provide places for citizens and visitors to enjoy began in 1885, when the Minnesota State Legislature authorized Minnehaha State Park, though it never gained that status and later became an important part of the Minneapolis park system. In 1891, Itasca, famed as the source of the Mississippi River, became the first park in the statewide system and has retained that leading place, and there, as in the other state parks, people can encounter nature and significant episodes in human history.