Indian Lake Township, Minnesota
Encyclopedia
Indian Lake Township is a township in Nobles County
, Minnesota
, United States
. The population was 259 at the 2000 census.
, the township has a total area of 34.9 square miles (90.4 km²), of which, 33.6 square miles (87 km²) of it is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²) of it (3.75%) is water. The major gepgraphic features in the township include Indian Lake
much of East Lake Ocheda
, and a small portion of Iowa Lake.
Main highways include:
due to the fact that settlers found Native Americans encamped along the lake's shores when they first arrived in 1869. A dozen years earlier, a band of Indians led by Inkpaduta
, the group responsible for the 1857 Spirit Lake Massacre
, lived along the shores of the lake. Indeed, the women and children of Inkpaduta's band were camped at Indian Lake when the massacre was taking place. Inkpaduta
later fled westward, joining up with the Lakotas. He became a close friend of Sitting Bull
, and participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn
and the defeat of George Armstrong Custer
. It is believed that Inkpaduta died in Canada in 1881 or 1882.
Issac Horton, a pioneer settler, was the first to take up permanent residence along the shores of Indian Lake. He had been renting a farm near Spirit Lake, Iowa
and frequently came to the Indian Lake region to hunt elk. On May 6, 1869, he filed a preemption claim to the eastern half of section 34 of Indian Lake Township. His claim included the eastern shore of Indian Lake. He erected a cabin of logs cut from his claim, and resided there for 17 years. Horton eventually sold his claim and purchased the southwest quarter of Indian Lake Township section 22 where he resided until his death in 1892.
Other early settlers in Indian Lake Township included Ole Fauskee and his family. Ole migrated from Norway
to the United States in 1867 when he was 25 years old. He was travelling through southwest Minnesota with his brother when his ox team gave out. He liked the country he saw, and on June 8, 1870, he and his brother walked all the way to Jackson, Minnesota
, to file claims. Ole Fauskee claimed the northwest quarter of section 6 of Indian Lake Township, and his brother made an adjacent claim. Fauskee erected a sod hut on the banks of East Lake Ocheda
and lived there for five years. He also claimed the northeast quarter of section 12 of Bigelow Township
. Fauskee eventually built a home of lumber there, and prospered as a farmer.
of 2000, there were 259 people, 94 households, and 78 families residing in the township. The population density
was 7.7 people per square mile (3.0/km²). There were 96 housing units at an average density of 2.9/sq mi (1.1/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 99.61% White, 0.39% from other races
. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.16% of the population.
There were 94 households out of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.6% were married couples
living together, 2.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.0% were non-families. 14.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the township the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 110.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $48,542, and the median income for a family was $55,469. Males had a median income of $29,107 versus $18,594 for females. The per capita income
for the township was $17,542. About 2.1% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.
, represented by Mankato
educator Tim Walz
, a Democrat
. At the state level, Indian Lake Township is located in Senate
District 22, represented by Republican
Doug Magnus
, and in House
District 22B, represented by Republican Rod Hamilton
.
Nobles County, Minnesota
Nobles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 21,378. Its county seat is Worthington.-Geography:...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 259 at the 2000 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the township has a total area of 34.9 square miles (90.4 km²), of which, 33.6 square miles (87 km²) of it is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²) of it (3.75%) is water. The major gepgraphic features in the township include Indian Lake
Indian Lake, Minnesota
-Indian Lake:Indian Lake is a small lake located in Indian Lake Township, Nobles County. The lake is an oblong body of water that extends north-to-south for approximately 3/4 mile. The width is approximately 1/2 mile. The lake area is . The average depth is , and the maximum depth is...
much of East Lake Ocheda
Lake Ocheda, Minnesota
-Physical Geography of Lake Ocheda:Lake Ocheda is a lake located in Nobles County, three miles south of Worthington, Minnesota. The lake is a long, narrow, body of water that extends east to west for approximately 5½ miles. The width varies from a few hundred yards, to a bit over 1/2 mile. Lake...
, and a small portion of Iowa Lake.
Main highways include:
Minnesota State Highway 264Minnesota State Highway 264Minnesota State Highway 264 is a highway in southwest Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with Nobles County Road 21 in Round Lake and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with Interstate 90 and Jackson County Road 1, six miles east of Worthington.The route is in...
Nobles County Road 3
Nobles County Road 4
Nobles County Road 5
History
Organization of Indian Lake Township was approved by the Nobles County Board on April 22, 1871. The township was named for the lake within its borders. The lake was named Indian LakeIndian Lake, Minnesota
-Indian Lake:Indian Lake is a small lake located in Indian Lake Township, Nobles County. The lake is an oblong body of water that extends north-to-south for approximately 3/4 mile. The width is approximately 1/2 mile. The lake area is . The average depth is , and the maximum depth is...
due to the fact that settlers found Native Americans encamped along the lake's shores when they first arrived in 1869. A dozen years earlier, a band of Indians led by Inkpaduta
Inkpaduta
Inkpaduta was a war chief of the Santee Sioux during the 1857 Spirit Lake Massacre and the 1862 Dakota War against the United States Army in Minnesota and the Dakota Territory.-Early life:Inkpaduta was born in what later became the Dakota...
, the group responsible for the 1857 Spirit Lake Massacre
Spirit Lake Massacre
The Spirit Lake Massacre was an attack by a Wahpetuke band of Santee Sioux on scattered Iowa frontier settlements during a severe winter. Suffering a shortage of food, the renegade chief Inkpaduta led 14 Sioux against the settlements near Okoboji and Spirit lakes in the northwestern territory of...
, lived along the shores of the lake. Indeed, the women and children of Inkpaduta's band were camped at Indian Lake when the massacre was taking place. Inkpaduta
Inkpaduta
Inkpaduta was a war chief of the Santee Sioux during the 1857 Spirit Lake Massacre and the 1862 Dakota War against the United States Army in Minnesota and the Dakota Territory.-Early life:Inkpaduta was born in what later became the Dakota...
later fled westward, joining up with the Lakotas. He became a close friend of Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull Sitting Bull Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake (in Standard Lakota Orthography), also nicknamed Slon-he or "Slow"; (c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies...
, and participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
and the defeat of George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
. It is believed that Inkpaduta died in Canada in 1881 or 1882.
Issac Horton, a pioneer settler, was the first to take up permanent residence along the shores of Indian Lake. He had been renting a farm near Spirit Lake, Iowa
Spirit Lake, Iowa
Spirit Lake is a city in Dickinson County, Iowa, United States. The population was 4,261 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dickinson County.The town is located along the western shore of East Okoboji Lake, in the Iowa Great Lakes region....
and frequently came to the Indian Lake region to hunt elk. On May 6, 1869, he filed a preemption claim to the eastern half of section 34 of Indian Lake Township. His claim included the eastern shore of Indian Lake. He erected a cabin of logs cut from his claim, and resided there for 17 years. Horton eventually sold his claim and purchased the southwest quarter of Indian Lake Township section 22 where he resided until his death in 1892.
Other early settlers in Indian Lake Township included Ole Fauskee and his family. Ole migrated from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
to the United States in 1867 when he was 25 years old. He was travelling through southwest Minnesota with his brother when his ox team gave out. He liked the country he saw, and on June 8, 1870, he and his brother walked all the way to Jackson, Minnesota
Jackson, Minnesota
Jackson is a city in Jackson County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,299 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Jackson County.-Geography:...
, to file claims. Ole Fauskee claimed the northwest quarter of section 6 of Indian Lake Township, and his brother made an adjacent claim. Fauskee erected a sod hut on the banks of East Lake Ocheda
Lake Ocheda, Minnesota
-Physical Geography of Lake Ocheda:Lake Ocheda is a lake located in Nobles County, three miles south of Worthington, Minnesota. The lake is a long, narrow, body of water that extends east to west for approximately 5½ miles. The width varies from a few hundred yards, to a bit over 1/2 mile. Lake...
and lived there for five years. He also claimed the northeast quarter of section 12 of Bigelow Township
Bigelow Township, Minnesota
Bigelow Township is a township in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 384 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water...
. Fauskee eventually built a home of lumber there, and prospered as a farmer.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 259 people, 94 households, and 78 families residing in the township. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 7.7 people per square mile (3.0/km²). There were 96 housing units at an average density of 2.9/sq mi (1.1/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 99.61% White, 0.39% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.16% of the population.
There were 94 households out of which 41.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 2.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.0% were non-families. 14.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the township the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 110.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $48,542, and the median income for a family was $55,469. Males had a median income of $29,107 versus $18,594 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the township was $17,542. About 2.1% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those sixty five or over.
Politics
Indian Lake Township is located in Minnesota's 1st congressional districtMinnesota's 1st congressional district
Minnesota's 1st congressional district extends across southern Minnesota from the border with South Dakota to the border with Wisconsin. The First District is primarily a rural district built on a strong history of agriculture, although this is changing rapidly due to strong population growth in...
, represented by Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
educator Tim Walz
Tim Walz
Timothy James Walz is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party .The district comprises the state's southern end, running along the entire border with Iowa...
, a Democrat
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party...
. At the state level, Indian Lake Township is located in Senate
Minnesota Senate
The Minnesota Senate is the upper house in the Minnesota Legislature. There are 67 members, half as many as are in the Minnesota House of Representatives. In terms of membership, it is the largest upper house of any state legislature. Each Senate district in the state includes an A and B House...
District 22, represented by Republican
Republican Party of Minnesota
The Republican Party of Minnesota is the Minnesota branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee in June 2009, its chairman is Tony Sutton, and its deputy-chairman is Michael Brodkorb.-Early history:...
Doug Magnus
Doug Magnus
Douglas Rudy "Doug" Magnus is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota Senate, representing District 22, which includes all of Cottonwood, Jackson, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone and Rock counties in the southwestern part of the state...
, and in House
Minnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...
District 22B, represented by Republican Rod Hamilton
Rod Hamilton
Rodney W. "Rod" Hamilton is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives representing District 22B, which includes all or portions of Cottonwood, Jackson and Nobles counties in the southwestern part of the state...
.