The Seminoe Mountains surrounding Seminoe State Park were once the site for gold prospecting during the late 1800s. The name “Seminoe” is commonly assumed to come from the Seminole tribe, but is an Americanized spelling of the French name Cimineau. Basil Cimineau Lajeunesse was a French trapper in the area in the 1800s. Seminoe State Park, located on the northwest side of the reservoir, was established in 1965 through an agreement between the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Wyoming Recreation Commission (predecessor to Wyoming State Parks and Historic Sites).