Records of the City of La Crosse Park and Recreation Department, 1860-2008, with the bulk of the documents dating from 1908-2000 include Board of Park Commissioners records (1908-2006), Park and Recreation Department records (1924-2008), Recreation (1963-1972), and Sites (1860-2007).

The Board materials include correspondence (1911-1999), director’s reports (1960; 1962-1963), a land records book (ca. 1900-1938), meeting minutes (1908-2006), an index and abstracts meeting minutes (1908-1979), and board policies (n. d.), including the park naming policy. The meeting minutes make up a substantial part of this collection and tell much of the history of the board as well as the Park & Recreation Dept. as a whole.

The PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT records are widely varied in subject content. Beginning with the Park department’s fiftieth and one hundredth anniversaries (1958 and 2008), these materials cover finance (1924-1979) which contain a smattering of monthly expenditures, bill and payroll reports and various yearly reports. Also included are flooding (2001), planning (1978-1979) which consists mostly of two project reports and project suggestion forms; surveys (1972; 1975), trees and planting (1971-1973) which contain items regarding Dutch elm disease and flower planting, but considering that the Park and Recreation Department controls most of the trees and planting in the city, there is very little information found here. Also included in the PARK AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT records are Wisconsin Park and Recreation Association materials from 1974, when their annual conference was held in La Crosse and a miscellaneous (1971-1980) file.

The RECREATION series consists mainly of photographs (1963-1972) and are largely unidentified. These are arranged by sport or activity and include baseball/softball, basketball, drama and music, fishing and fishing derbies, horse shoes, ice hockey, and ice skating including the annual speed skating event on Pettibone lagoon sponsored by the Park and Recreation Department.

Lastly, SITES include information and some photographs about land controlled by the Park department and constitute the bulk of the collection. Sites that have the most information include Cameron Park, Campbell Cemetery, Copeland Park, Country Club grounds, Grandad Bluff, Hixon Forest, Myrick Park and zoo, Pettibone Park and Riverside Park.

Cameron Park (1965-2005) includes many newspaper clippings about the Ten Commandments Monument.

Campbell Cemetery (1860-1992) became under the jurisdiction of the Park Dept. in 1932. The material is divided into burial permits (1897-1979), financial journals (1860-1932), indexes, maps, and miscellaneous (1916-1992). Burial permits contain permits for burial and disinterment. Finance, which is contained in two volumes, has very early meeting minutes as well as information on who bought burial plots. There are several different indexes: deeds sold (alphabetical), tombstones read and tombstones read (alphabetical), and burial permits (alphabetical and chronological). Both maps plat the cemetery differently.

One of the maps, dated 1931 and marked void is completely different from the others. It shows two circles containing burial plots in the middle of the cemetery. It has been determined that there are many more burials than stones. Miscellaneous materials contain some genealogical inquiries and information and some copies of burial permits.

Copeland Park (1951-2006) contains information about the Clinton Street bridge relocation and road widening project, 1977-1983; Logger Field, 2002-2006; shelter, 1963-2003; steam locomotive and caboose, 1958-2004; West Copeland Park/North La Crosse landfill site/North Side Dump/Veterans Freedom Park, 1971-2006.

The Country Club grounds/La Crosse Country Club/Bluffs Country Club/Forest Hills Golf Course (1913-2003) consists of newspaper clippings and information about the golf course and swimming pool.

Grandad Bluff materials (1909-1999) include general files, information about erosion control, flag pole, McLoone’s Addition, memorial plaque and the pump and well.

Hixon Forest materials (1965-2005) include general files, Luxford property exchange (Experimental Forest), McBain property, Nature Center, restrooms, rifle range, and trails.

Myrick Park materials (1932-2007) include general files as well as information o the gun club, Kids Coulee playscape, tennis courts and zoo.

The Myrick Park Zoo operated from 1929-2007 and records include materials of the La Crosse Zoo Development Association (1949-1953), a non-profit group, which consist of articles of incorporation and by-laws (1949), and the meetings of directors’ minutes (1950-1953). Much of the history of this association can be found in the meeting of directors’ minutes. Other materials include correspondence (1951-1953), finance, which includes general (1949-1953) finance of the association and ticket sales (1951-1953) information, and some miscellaneous (1949-1953) items including brochures, contracts and newspaper items.

Concessions also constitute a good portion of this file, 1975-2003. The Myrick Zoo was replaced by the Myrick Hixon Ecopark exhibits due to open in 2010 or 2011.

Pettibone Park (1912; 1932-2002) contains general files as well as information on the bath house, beach, lagoon, South Pettibone Island, wing dam light and Wisconsin Telephone Co. cable.

Lastly, Riverside Park (1930-2007) includes information on the Anderson Memorial Band shell, Arata sculpture, boardwalk, Hiawatha statue and Riverfest in addition to general files.