Lake Louise State Park near Le Roy, Minnesota, grew from land Conrad Hambrecht set aside for recreation after a dam on the Upper Iowa River created a small lake beside his property in the late 1850s or early 1860s. Donated to the city as Wildwood Park, the site was later expanded and transferred to the state, becoming a state park in 1963. What began as the lake and 636 acres has grown to 1,168 acres of prairie and deciduous forest around a 25-acre man-made lake. The park remains a local recreation destination and preserves a distinctive meeting of water, woods, and prairie.