The area where Friday Park is located caught the eye of the many ladies’ groups in Green Lake in the late 1800’s.  Once the dam issues were settled and the chances of that area flooding greatly reduced, the ladies rolled up their sleeves and got busy transforming the land parcel from weeds, brambles, and other swamp style plantings and reshaped the grounds by convincing able-bodied men to bring in loads and loads of soil to raise the area up.  In the early 1900’s Jessie Lawson (wife of Victor Lawson, owners of Lone Tree Point, later The Green Lake Conference Center) loaned out some of her crew to assist in the efforts and all worked to add new plantings that would add color and new shade into the area. The park became a permanent community attraction April 28, 1911.

In 1872 the Dartford Station was built.  Located a half mile east of downtown Green Lake, the hordes of visitors arriving by the numerous daily trains were met by the many camp, hotel, resort and private owner carriages for portage to their lodging sites for their quest to enjoy the restorative powers of Daychola.  With the continued rise in demand for vacations and a life of ease, Green Lake’s popularity continued to grow.

As the 20^th century took hold, the automobile started changing how travelers came to Green Lake and for how long.  More homes were built around the lake and more seasonal cottages became year around residences.  Over time, the demand for train travel dwindled while efficiency by traveling via automobile became easier; eventually rail services stopped.

The Friday Park depot was originally the Fond du Lac to Sheboygan depot and was donated to the Dartford Historical Society in 1974 through fund raising efforts of the 15 members of the Twentieth Century Club.   On July 4, 1976 it became a permanent resident of Friday Park and until 1993 was the home of the Dartford Historical Society.