NEW LONDON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Historical Society announces the listing of William H. Hatten Park in the National Register of Historic Places on August 7, 2024. The park was established in 1935 in New London, Waupaca County.

William H. Hatten Recreation Park was created in 1935 on the western side of New London. The site was donated to the city by local resident Chester Allen. It covers 120 acres of woods, wetlands, and a nature preserve connected by meandering trails. Landscape architect Franz A. Aust from the University of Wisconsin-Madison designed the drive and trail system in a Prairie style, and it was implemented as a large Works Progress Administration project. From 1935-1941, up to 125 men a year on relief rolls filled and graded the park site, erected stone perimeter walls and entrances, planted thousands of donated trees, laid out and conditioned the drive and trail system, and dug the lagoon to convert the marshy woodlands and wetlands.

In 1937, local lumber baron William H. Hatten donated $10,000 for the field house and naming rights to the park. The New London Department of Parks & Recreation has maintained the park and has offered recreational activities there since 1937. Resources include a baseball/softball field within a stone stadium, tennis courts, playgrounds, a former swimming pool, and ice skating, as well as multiple festivities. Around 1967, a shooting range was erected for the police department which offered workshops and hosted sharpshooting competitions for the public.

Today, the park represents the efforts of citizens to improve the city’s setting and to create public parks for recreation. William H. Hatten Park is accessible year-round.

Additional information for the Johnson House is available at:

https://wisconsinhistory.org/Records/NationalRegister/NR2802

To learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin, visit: https://wisconsinhistory.org/hp/register/

About the Wisconsin Historical Society

The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. For more information, visit wisconsinhistory.org.