Turtle River State Park was established under the initiative of Russell Reid, superintendent of the State Historical Society of North Dakota from 1930 to 1965. Serving also as secretary of the State Parks Committee and state procurement officer for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Reid helped shape North Dakota’s fledgling state park system and state historic sites during the Great Depression. The original concept for this park treated the river as an integral feature of the design, allowing for shallow, low-level roadway crossings and a recreational swimming hole. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, a lodge was constructed as a combined dining hall and caretaker’s home that served until 2000, when it was severely damaged during spring