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HistoryA park plaque honors Mr. Ralph Van Slyke who, with the most common garden tools, cut a park in the valley above Chief Joseph Dam in the early 1960s. Van Slyke was a retired employee of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The park was named for the town of Bridgeport, which from 1881 to 1889 was known as Westfield. In 1889, Mr. J. Covert, a citizen of Bridgeport, Connecticut, came west to survey a railroad route and renamed Westfield after his hometown.
The park was created as part of a cooperative agreement between Washington State Parks and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps is involved in park-building because of an operating agreement for dams which requires the corps to rebuild recreation areas.
Interpretive opportunitiesInterpretive programs are provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Subjects include the operation of
Chief Joseph Dam, area wildlife, and many other topics of local interest. Programs are usually on Saturdays during the summer season.
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