Looking over our shoulder to the days of long ago, one could imagine Indians sitting around a campfire in front of their wigwams. The area which includes Steuben County is rich in Indian lore. To the Indians, this area was the ideal hunting grounds because of its beautiful forests, hills, sparkling clear lakes and bountiful game. The Potawatomi Indians thrived in this area and would come here to set up fishing camps. The tribe originated in the East and bore the name "Puttawa" (blowing fire.) AT some point, the name was changed to Potawatomi, which means "people of the place of fire."
Leopold Pokagon, a member of this noble tribe, set up his permanent residence in the Great Lakes region. Legend says Pokagon was the son of a Chippawa father and Ottawa mother, born around 1775. He was abducted from his Chippawa village by a Potawatomi chief and given to Chief Topenebee of the Potawatomi. He was given the name Pokagon because he was wearing a headdress that contained a human rib. The word Pokagon means "rib." Books written later by his son Simon, however, tend to refute this legend.
Simon Pokagon, the son of Leopold Pokagon, was born in an old Potawatomi village. When Simon was 11, his father died and area settlers took the task of educating him. He eventually attended four years at Notre Dame, one year at Oberlin College and two years at Twinsburg College in Ohio. During his college career, Simon met and married a beautiful Potawatomi Indian girl named Lonidaw. They built a wigwam home of bark and pokes in a stately woods near a crystal lake, somewhere in northern Indiana. Lake Lonidaw, inside Pokagon State Park, got its name because it is said to resemble this legendary lake.
In treaties of 1826 and 1830, the Potawatomi tribe sold all their land which made up a large part of Northern Indiana and included the present site of Chicago. They were compensated with three cents an acre, which even at that time was considered an extremely small amount. It would be 70 years before they would be fully paid for the land. Following the treaty of 1830, the Potawatomis were evicted from the land area and were relocated west of the Mississippi River, to what is now Kansas. Leopold's band moved on their own to an area north of South Bend, near Dowagiac, Mich. In 1893, Simon Pokagon and his family attended the World's Fair in Chicago. It was there that Chief Pokagon transferred the deeds for the land. The occasion was a formality that was long overdue.
In 1925, after careful planning and negotiating, the residents of Steuben County purchased 580 acres along the shores of Lake James and Snow Lake. The land was tendered as a Christmas gift from the residents of Steuben County to the state. An additional 127 acres wee added by the state to make a total of 707 acres. Actual park construction began in 1926. The park at that time was the third largest park in the state. After approximately two years, the two-unit hotel (Potawatomi Inn) was completed, costing $3,500 per unit. On Feb. 23, 1927, Col. Richard Lieber, state conservation commissioner, suggested the name Pokagon after the chief. By unanimous agreement, the park officially was named Pokagon State Park.
Most of the park construction was completed by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1934 and 1942. They constructed the roads, trails, camping units, walks, gate house, cabins, beach house, shelter house, Spring Shelter, saddle barn and the first toboggan slide. In addition, they planted thousands of young trees.
