Former state senator Theron Gurney and his wife, Helen, donated land to the village of Hart in 1912 for a park honoring their son, Lieutenant John Gurney, who had graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and died at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba during the Spanish American War. In 1914 the Progressive Park Association erected the entrance arch as a memorial. John Gurney Park later became one of several auto tourist camps developed along the West Michigan Pike during the 1920s. In 1921 a pavilion was built and the park gained water and other amenities, and that year the Hart Journal called it "one of the most beautiful and spacious parks that any town in Western Michigan can boast." Hart Lake was created in 1925 when the Pentwater River was dammed for a hydroelectric plant. The rise of auto tourist camps followed the introduction of the Model T by the Ford Motor Company in 1908, which made automobiles affordable to the working class and helped turn driving into recreation. Because services for long-distance motorists were not yet available, travelers to scenic areas often camped overnight on private land. In 1919 the Michigan State Parks Commission was founded to create a state park system with public access to lakes and beaches and free camping for auto tourists. Camping soon became a national phenomenon, and to meet demand the Michigan Tourist and Resort Association proposed in 1920 that five camps be built along the West Michigan Pike, one of the state's first improved continuous highways. By 1923 Michigan had about 300 free auto tourist camps.