Lakota
The Lakota Resort was once a great place to go for recreation. It is situated along the shores of Bear Lake just beyond Fish Haven. People had good times, camped in cabins, danced at the tented pavilion, and played baseball games. The resort began when Clarence E. Booth purchased part of the Cook homestead and built a heated swimming pool, a dance pavilion, cabins, and a cafe. E. M. Pugmire became his partner, and they enlarged the resort.
They ran a contest through the Paris Post newspaper asking people to name it. John (Johann) Favre of Paris won a $5 gold piece for submitting the Indian name Lakota, which means "sparking waters." Favre was a Civil War and Western Indian War veteran. Lakota was the name of a Sioux Scout who saved his life in a campaign. A few years later, the whole resort burned to the ground.
The L.D.S. Church once owned the white two-story building now called "Camper World." In 1949, it was being used for the young women from the towns in the valley who took turns camping there for two or three days each summer. They would swim in the lake, play baseball on the diamond, and sing around the old piano in the lodge.
Lakota was at its peak in the 1920s. Today, there are a few homes in Lakota that are lived in all year long. However, there are private cabins and short-term rental homes are everywhere, and the public no longer has a fun resort there for recreation.
Resources:
- J. Patrick Wilde "Tidbits" Vol. 3 page 43
- Personal knowledge of Jo Ann Farnsworth