Lake Willastein Lake Willastein is a man made lake, built in 1942 to support the Maumelle Ordinance Works, which was created in June, 1941 to make picric acid for the federal government. Fire hydrants were placed around the lake with pipes extending into the lake from which fire personel would pump water into their trucks. The lake is surrounded by a 20-foot high earthen dam on it’s east and south shores then tapers off to the lakes natural shoreline. The lake is a retension lake for rain water run off. A spillway is at the southern end of the lake and has a maximum discharge of 135 cubic feet per second. The water from this spillway ultimately finds its way to two retention lakes on the Maumelle Country Club golf course. The water from those lakes is used water the course. Lake Willastein received it’s name from the city’s founding father, Jess Odom, who named it after his wife, Willastein Odom. In 1983 a grant  was obtained by MSID 500, Now Maumelle Water Works, to enlarge the lake into a regional park. Much of that enlargement exists today. In 1993, the city added trails, parking and extended the road over the bridge.                                                                                                                Beverly Masters, long time Maumelle resident Lake Willastein and the surrounding park are a major attraction for the city. The walking, jogging and biking trails are favorites for many visitors to the park. The city of Maumelle holds its annual FourthFest in the park to celebrate the 4th of July holidays Photos of Lake Willestein Home