Monson Lake State Park
Encyclopedia
Monson Lake State Park is a state park
of Minnesota
, USA, originally established as a memorial to 13 Swedish American
pioneers who were killed there in the Dakota War of 1862
. A district of 1930s New Deal
structures is on the National Register of Historic Places
. Despite being nearly doubled in size in 2009, the state park remains one of Minnesota's smallest. It is located off Minnesota State Highway 9
just west of Sunburg
and 20 miles (32.2 km) northwest of Willmar
. This seasonally-staffed park is managed from nearby Sibley State Park
.
of the Chippewa River
, a tributary of the Minnesota River
.
was formed by rocks and sediments dropped by the Wadena Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet
30,000 years ago during the last glacial period. The whole region is thickly blanketed with till
100 to 400 ft (30.5 to 121.9 m) thick. Blocks of ice that broke off from the glacier
melted in place, forming the park's trio of kettle lakes.
, with groves of trees growing where the lakes blocked some of the advancing wildfire
s. Today the park is primarily forested with basswood
, bur oak, and green ash with a few stands of northern red oak. Ironwood is abundant in the shrub layer and the understory
is characterized by Virginia waterleaf
. Other wildflower
s include nodding trillium
, large-flowered bellwort, Dutchman's breeches
, bloodroot
, jack-in-the-pulpit
, and starry false Solomon seal
. There are 42 acres (17 ha) of this habitat type, all of it secondary forest
.
The lakeshores and other marshes are characterized by emergent plant
s like prairie bulrush, bur-reed
, arrowhead
, and spikerush
.
Two widespread invasive species
are established in the park, common buckthorn
and reed canary grass
.
, groundhog
s, mink
s, foxes, squirrels, and Eastern chipmunk
s. Monson Lake State Park is located on a major corridor of the Mississippi Flyway
and attracts a variety of birds. Regionally threatened or uncommon species include Henslow's sparrows
, American white pelicans
, Forster's terns
, Franklin's gulls
, horned grebes, and trumpeter swans
.
. What pollution there was was largely from agricultural runoff. Aquatic
and emergent plants exhibited good density and biodiversity
. Monson Lake does experience cyanobacteria blooms
in summer, but is free of Eurasian water milfoil
and other invasive aquatic plants. The water quality in West Sunburg Lake is considered very high.
of significant temperature variation between summer and winter. The mean temperature in July is 71.8 °F (22.1 °C) and in January 9.7 °F (-12.4 °C). Average annual precipitation has been 31.67 inches (80.4 cm). Average snowfall per year is 53.6 inches (136.1 cm) and the growing season
usually runs 156 days.
s demonstrate that the future park was occupied by Native Americans at least as long ago as the Woodland period
(1000 BCE
– 1000 CE). Excavation revealed stone tool
s including obsidian
from the Great Plains
, flint
from the Knife River
in North Dakota, and quartzite
from near Hixton, Wisconsin
, suggesting a wide trade network.
, purchased 160 acres (64.7 ha) on July 15, 1861, it was at the very edge of the frontier. Anders and his wife Christiana had four children: Anna Stina, Johannes, Andreas, and Christiana. Daniel and his wife Anna Stina had two sons – Peter and Alfred – and a third, John, would be born that fall. Together with the neighboring families of Swen Oman and Johannes Lundborg they formed what was called the West Lake Settlement. However the growing Euro-American population was making it increasingly difficult for the native Dakota
people to pursue their traditional lifestyle. Resettlement on reservations, treaty violations by the United States, and late or unfair annuity payments by Indian agent
s caused increasing hunger and hardship among the Dakota.
At first the Dakota seemed friendly, but the situation abruptly soured. It is not known whether any of the five white men were armed. Anders and the Lundborg boys were shot, though Samuel Lundborg would survive his wounds. Andreas Lundborg arrived just as his sons were being attacked. Armed but obviously outnumbered, he ran and several Dakota gave chase. At that point, however, the wagon appeared in which Daniel Broberg was driving the women and children home, and the attackers focused on them instead. Daniel was shot and 7-year-old Christiana was clubbed down with a rifle. 16-year-old Anna Stina managed to flee into a cornfield, where she caught up with Andreas Lundborg. Her cousin Peter ran almost 400 yards (365.8 m) to the Oman cabin, which was in sight. A Dakota tore Peter's baby brother from their mother's hands and threw it to the ground. The warriors tried to take the two Mrs. Brobergs prisoner, but they resisted and were shot.
The Dakota killed the three children and an adult left in the Broberg cabin, and went on to loot the Lundborg cabin. The elder Lundborg had evacuated his remaining family and hidden with Anna Stina Broberg in a slough. They were shot at but no one was hit. Surrounded by open ground, Peter Broberg and the Oman family were trapped in their cabin. Late that afternoon three Dakota approached the Oman home. The six settlers inside managed to duck into the cellar through a trapdoor, and listened as the place was shot up and looted.
Finally the Dakota departed, though the Omans hid in the cellar until after sunset. They emerged and spent the night in the woods, encountering the superficially wounded Samuel Lundborg at dawn. The various survivors gathered on an island in a nearby lake. Two days after the attack, several settlers went to gather and bury the dead. The 13 killed — Anders (age 43), Christiana (36), Johannes (13), Andreas (10), and Christiana Broberg (7); Daniel (38), Anna Stina (30), Alfred (4), and John Broberg (10 months); Andreas (25), Gustaf (23), and Lars Lundborg (22), and Johannes Broberg (age and relation uncertain) — were all buried in a nearby field. Peter and the younger Anna Stina were the only members of their respective families to survive.
As the war broadened, many settlers fled the region. Anna Stina and Peter returned to the area 3 years later, though settlement didn't fully rebound until the 1890s. The victims were reburied in New London, Minnesota
, in 1891 and marked with a state-funded monument. Anna Stina had married another West Lake Settlement refugee in 1864 and they moved to Pennington County
in northwestern Minnesota in 1880. She died in 1933 at the age of 87. Peter Broberg placed a memorial marker at the cabin site in a 1917 ceremony, and died in New London in 1925.
The dedication of the private memorial park on August 21, 1927 drew 10,000 attendees. The Monson Lake Memorial Association continued to hold wildly popular annual events through the Great Depression
, marked by speeches, plays, music, and refreshments. State and national politicians and other dignitaries attended. Following a hiatus during World War II, observances were sporadic but elaborate. The largest-ever attendance was 15,000 in 1958, Minnesota's centennial year. The 1962 event included a two-hour, four-act play.
From the beginning the observations presented only a European American perspective, treating the 13 white victims as veritable martyr
s. It wasn't until 1987 that the injustices suffered by the Dakota were included in the programming. That event only drew a few hundred. The 1990 observation featured readings by poet and essayist Bill Holm
.
administration funded public works
projects to ease unemployment, and park development was a significant focus. To this end, in 1935 the Association convinced the Minnesota Emergency Relief Agency to purchase and expand the park. The Veterans Conservation Corps — a branch of the Civilian Conservation Corps
for unemployed World War I veterans — had a major camp at nearby Sibley State Park
, so a side camp was established at Monson Lake in 1936. The VCC men constructed a Sanitation Building and a Combination Building (a picnic shelter with a public cooking area and space for a concession
service). These were built in the National Park Service rustic
style with local granite
and white oak. Crews from the Works Progress Administration
created the gravel entrance road and parking lot. Monson Lake Memorial State Park, as it was originally named, was dedicated in 1938. Since it was designated a memorial state park, only limited recreational facilities were built.
In 1989 31 acres (12.5 ha) encompassing these structures were added to the National Register of Historic Places. Since low visitation has never spurred significant alterations, it is the only Minnesota state park that remains nearly unchanged from its original development.
Monson Lake State Park remained 187 acres (75.7 ha) for decades, with its eastern border including only a sliver of West Sunberg Lake. In the mid-2000s the owners of an undeveloped hunting retreat to the east approached the park about selling to the state rather than a real estate developer
. Their 158 acres (63.9 ha) included most of the rest of West Sunburg Lake and some of East Sunburg Lake. This is unusual because lakes in Minnesota remain public property
, but in the 1930s the Sunburg Lakes had been dry and the ownership rights were bought and sold. Approvals and fund appropriation took the state three years, and the $395,000 purchase was finalized in June 2009. The new parcel comprises 44 acres (17.8 ha) of land and 114 acres (46.1 ha) of water, with 10200 feet (3,109 m) of shoreline. The new parcel will be managed as a refuge
for waterfowl
.
, camping
, canoeing
, fishing
, hiking
, and picnicking. The campground has just 20 sites and is only open in summer. There is a boat ramp on Monson Lake and the park has two canoes and a rowboat available for rent. Game fish in Monson Lake are walleye
, northern pike
, largemouth bass
, black crappie, yellow perch
, and bluegill
. The walleye are stocked
biennially. 1.2 miles (1.9 km) of trail currently trace through the park. A canoe route starts at the boat ramp, leads across Monson Lake, and traverses a 463 feet (141.1 m) portage
into West Sunburg Lake. In winter snowshoe
ing is allowed anywhere in the park.
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
of 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...
, USA, originally established as a memorial to 13 Swedish American
Swedish American
Swedish Americans are Americans of Swedish descent, especially the descendants of about 1.2 million immigrants from Sweden during 1885-1915. Most were Lutherans who affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ; some were Methodists...
pioneers who were killed there in the Dakota War of 1862
Dakota War of 1862
The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, was an armed conflict between the United States and several bands of the eastern Sioux. It began on August 17, 1862, along the Minnesota River in southwest Minnesota...
. A district of 1930s New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
structures is on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Despite being nearly doubled in size in 2009, the state park remains one of Minnesota's smallest. It is located off Minnesota State Highway 9
Minnesota State Highway 9
Minnesota State Highway 9 is a highway in west-central and northwest Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 23 in New London and continues west and then north to its northern terminus at its intersection with U.S. Highway 2 in Fairfax Township near Crookston.This highway has...
just west of Sunburg
Sunburg, Minnesota
Sunburg is a city in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 100 at the 2010 census. The community is famous for its celebration of its Norwegian-American heritage. The local Sunburg Creamery Cafe serves Norwegian dishes including Klub and Lutefisk. The community is home to...
and 20 miles (32.2 km) northwest of Willmar
Willmar, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,351 people, 7,302 households, and 4,461 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,549.9 people per square mile . There were 7,789 housing units at an average density of 657.8 per square mile...
. This seasonally-staffed park is managed from nearby Sibley State Park
Sibley State Park
Sibley State Park is a Minnesota state park near New London.It is set on Lake Andrew and, it was named for Henry Hastings Sibley, the first governor of the state. A city park in Mankato, Minnesota is also named for Sibley ....
.
Geography
Much of Monson Lake State Park's acreage is water, with land mostly comprising isthmuses between, and islands in, the three adjacent lakes of Monson, West Sunburg, and East Sunburg. Monson Lake, whose shore forms the western boundary of the park, is 152 acres (61.5 ha) and up to 21 feet (6.4 m) deep. West Sunburg Lake is about 178 acres (72 ha). Monson Lake has three inlets, and one outlet to West Sunburg. The lakes are part of the watershedDrainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
of the Chippewa River
Chippewa River (Minnesota)
The Chippewa River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, about 120 mi long, in western and southwestern Minnesota in the United States...
, a tributary of the Minnesota River
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of nearly , in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa....
.
Geology
Monson Lake State Park lies on a band of lakes and rolling hills called the Alexandria Moraine. This moraineMoraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
was formed by rocks and sediments dropped by the Wadena Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet
Laurentide ice sheet
The Laurentide Ice Sheet was a massive sheet of ice that covered hundreds of thousands of square miles, including most of Canada and a large portion of the northern United States, multiple times during Quaternary glacial epochs. It last covered most of northern North America between c. 95,000 and...
30,000 years ago during the last glacial period. The whole region is thickly blanketed with till
Till
thumb|right|Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material , and this characteristic, known as matrix support, is diagnostic of till....
100 to 400 ft (30.5 to 121.9 m) thick. Blocks of ice that broke off from the glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
melted in place, forming the park's trio of kettle lakes.
Flora
Prior to European settlement the area would have borne tallgrass prairieTallgrass prairie
The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America, with fire as its primary periodic disturbance. In the past, tallgrass prairies covered a large portion of the American Midwest, just east of the Great Plains, and portions of the Canadian Prairies. They flourished in areas with...
, with groves of trees growing where the lakes blocked some of the advancing wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
s. Today the park is primarily forested with basswood
Tilia americana
Tilia americana is a species of Tilia native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Texas, and southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to Cherry County, Nebraska...
, bur oak, and green ash with a few stands of northern red oak. Ironwood is abundant in the shrub layer and the understory
Understory
Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs...
is characterized by Virginia waterleaf
Hydrophyllum virginianum
The Virginia Waterleaf is an herbaceous perennial plant native to Eastern North America. The plant generally spreads by rhizomes to form large colonies in wooded areas. It can also spread by seeds. The seedling usually appear early to mid-spring. Flowers are blue, white, or purple, appearing in...
. Other wildflower
Wildflower
A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...
s include nodding trillium
Trillium cernuum
Trillium cernuum is a species of Trillium native to northeastern North America, from Newfoundland west to southern Saskatchewan, and south to northern Virginia and Iowa...
, large-flowered bellwort, Dutchman's breeches
Dicentra cucullaria
Dicentra cucullaria is a perennial herbaceous plant, native to rich woods of eastern North America, with a disjunct population in the Columbia River Basin....
, bloodroot
Bloodroot
Bloodroot is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern North America from Nova Scotia, Canada southward to Florida, United States...
, jack-in-the-pulpit
Arisaema triphyllum
Arisaema triphyllum is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from a corm. It is a highly variable species typically growing from 30 to 65 cm in height with three parted leaves and flowers contained in a spadix that is covered by a hood...
, and starry false Solomon seal
Maianthemum stellatum
Maianthemum stellatum is a species of flowering plant, native across North America generally from Alaska to California in the west and from Newfoundland to the central Appalachian Mountains in the east...
. There are 42 acres (17 ha) of this habitat type, all of it secondary forest
Secondary forest
A secondary forest is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a major disturbance such as fire, insect infestation, timber harvest or windthrow, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident...
.
The lakeshores and other marshes are characterized by emergent plant
Emergent plant
An emergent plant is one which grows in water but which pierces the surface so that it is partially in air. Collectively, such plants are emergent vegetation....
s like prairie bulrush, bur-reed
Sparganium
Sparganium is a genus of flowering plants, containing about 20 species in temperate regions of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It was previously placed alone in the family Sparganiaceae...
, arrowhead
Sagittaria
Sagittaria is a genus of about 30 species of aquatic plants whose members go by a variety of common names, including arrowhead, duck potato, iz-ze-kn, katniss, kuwai , swan potato, tule potato, and wapato...
, and spikerush
Eleocharis
Eleocharis is a genus of 250 or more species of flowering plants in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. They are known commonly as spikerushes, although spikesedges is a more technically appropriate name and most scientists who study them in earnest refer to them as such...
.
Two widespread invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
are established in the park, common buckthorn
Rhamnus cathartica
Rhamnus cathartica , is a species in the family Rhamnaceae, native to Europe, northwest Africa, and western Asia, from the central British Isles south to Morocco, and east to Kyrgyzstan...
and reed canary grass
Reed canary grass
Reed canarygrass, Phalaris arundinacea, is a tall, perennial bunchgrass that commonly forms extensive single-species stands along the margins of lakes and streams and in wet open areas, with a wide distribution in Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America.-Description:The stems can reach 2.5...
.
Fauna
Mammals most commonly found in the park are white-tailed deerWhite-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
, groundhog
Groundhog
The groundhog , also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but...
s, mink
Mink
There are two living species referred to as "mink": the European Mink and the American Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but was much larger. All three species are dark-colored, semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes the weasels and...
s, foxes, squirrels, and Eastern chipmunk
Eastern Chipmunk
The eastern chipmunk is a small squirrel-like rodent found in eastern North America, the sole living member of the chipmunk genus and subgenus Tamias....
s. Monson Lake State Park is located on a major corridor of the Mississippi Flyway
Mississippi Flyway
The Mississippi Flyway is a bird migration route that generally follows the Mississippi River in the United States and the Mackenzie River in Canada. The main endpoints of the flyway include central Canada and the region surrounding the Gulf of Mexico...
and attracts a variety of birds. Regionally threatened or uncommon species include Henslow's sparrows
Henslow's Sparrow
Henslow's Sparrow, Ammodramus henslowii, is a small American sparrow.Adults have streaked brown upperparts with a light brown breast with streaks, a white belly and a white throat...
, American white pelicans
American White Pelican
The American White Pelican is a large aquatic bird from the order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Central America, in winter....
, Forster's terns
Forster's Tern
The Forster's Tern, Sterna forsteri, is a member of the tern family Sternidae. It breeds inland in North America and winters south to the Caribbean and northern South America....
, Franklin's gulls
Franklin's Gull
The Franklin's Gull is a small gull.-Description:It breeds in central provinces of Canada and adjacent states of the northern United States...
, horned grebes, and trumpeter swans
Trumpeter Swan
The Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator, is the largest native North American bird, if measured in terms of weight and length, and is the largest living waterfowl species on earth. It is the North American counterpart of the European Whooper Swan.-Description:Males typically measure from and weigh...
.
Water quality
At the time of the most recent survey in 2005, Monson Lake was found to have good water clarity and low to moderate nutrient pollutionNutrient pollution
Nutrient pollution, a form of water pollution, refers to contamination by excessive inputs of nutrient. It is a primary cause of eutrophication of surface waters, in which excess nutrients, usually nitrogen or phosphorus, stimulate algal growth...
. What pollution there was was largely from agricultural runoff. Aquatic
Aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...
and emergent plants exhibited good density and biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
. Monson Lake does experience cyanobacteria blooms
Algal bloom
An algal bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in an aquatic system. Algal blooms may occur in freshwater as well as marine environments. Typically, only one or a small number of phytoplankton species are involved, and some blooms may be recognized by discoloration...
in summer, but is free of Eurasian water milfoil
Myriophyllum spicatum
Myriophyllum spicatum is a species of Myriophyllum native to Europe, Asia, and north Africa. It is a submerged aquatic plant, and grows in still or slow-moving water.-Description:...
and other invasive aquatic plants. The water quality in West Sunburg Lake is considered very high.
Climate
The park experiences a humid continental climateContinental climate
Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...
of significant temperature variation between summer and winter. The mean temperature in July is 71.8 °F (22.1 °C) and in January 9.7 °F (-12.4 °C). Average annual precipitation has been 31.67 inches (80.4 cm). Average snowfall per year is 53.6 inches (136.1 cm) and the growing season
Growing season
In botany, horticulture, and agriculture the growing season is the period of each year when native plants and ornamental plants grow; and when crops can be grown....
usually runs 156 days.
Cultural history
Three archaeological siteArchaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
s demonstrate that the future park was occupied by Native Americans at least as long ago as the Woodland period
Woodland period
The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures was from roughly 1000 BCE to 1000 CE in the eastern part of North America. The term "Woodland Period" was introduced in the 1930s as a generic header for prehistoric sites falling between the Archaic hunter-gatherers and the...
(1000 BCE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
– 1000 CE). Excavation revealed stone tool
Stone tool
A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric, particularly Stone Age cultures that have become extinct...
s including obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...
from the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
, flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
from the Knife River
Knife River
This article is about the river in North Dakota. For other meanings, see Knife River The Knife River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 120 mi long, in North Dakota in the United States....
in North Dakota, and quartzite
Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
from near Hixton, Wisconsin
Hixton, Wisconsin
Hixton is a village in Jackson County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Trempealeau River. The population was 446 at the 2000 census. The village is located within the Town of Hixton.-Geography:Hixton is located at ....
, suggesting a wide trade network.
Euro-American settlement
When Anders and Daniel Broberg, immigrant brothers from SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, purchased 160 acres (64.7 ha) on July 15, 1861, it was at the very edge of the frontier. Anders and his wife Christiana had four children: Anna Stina, Johannes, Andreas, and Christiana. Daniel and his wife Anna Stina had two sons – Peter and Alfred – and a third, John, would be born that fall. Together with the neighboring families of Swen Oman and Johannes Lundborg they formed what was called the West Lake Settlement. However the growing Euro-American population was making it increasingly difficult for the native Dakota
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
people to pursue their traditional lifestyle. Resettlement on reservations, treaty violations by the United States, and late or unfair annuity payments by Indian agent
Indian agent
In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with Native American tribes on behalf of the U.S. government.-Indian agents:*Leander Clark was agent for the Sac and Fox in Iowa beginning in 1866....
s caused increasing hunger and hardship among the Dakota.
The attack at the Broberg cabin
On the morning of Wednesday, August 20, 1862, most residents in the West Lake Settlement were unaware that violence had broken out between Dakota and white settlers three days earlier. A pastor who circulated among the scattered pioneers was holding a church service at the Lundborg cabin. The Brobergs and the Omans attended, leaving many of the younger children at home. Those at the Broberg cabin were visited by about 30 Dakotas, dressed in war regalia and not as friendly as usual. The frightened settlers sent seven-year-old Peter Broberg to fetch the adults. Anders Broberg and the four sons of Andreas Lundborg hurried the 2 miles (3.2 km) to the scene.At first the Dakota seemed friendly, but the situation abruptly soured. It is not known whether any of the five white men were armed. Anders and the Lundborg boys were shot, though Samuel Lundborg would survive his wounds. Andreas Lundborg arrived just as his sons were being attacked. Armed but obviously outnumbered, he ran and several Dakota gave chase. At that point, however, the wagon appeared in which Daniel Broberg was driving the women and children home, and the attackers focused on them instead. Daniel was shot and 7-year-old Christiana was clubbed down with a rifle. 16-year-old Anna Stina managed to flee into a cornfield, where she caught up with Andreas Lundborg. Her cousin Peter ran almost 400 yards (365.8 m) to the Oman cabin, which was in sight. A Dakota tore Peter's baby brother from their mother's hands and threw it to the ground. The warriors tried to take the two Mrs. Brobergs prisoner, but they resisted and were shot.
The Dakota killed the three children and an adult left in the Broberg cabin, and went on to loot the Lundborg cabin. The elder Lundborg had evacuated his remaining family and hidden with Anna Stina Broberg in a slough. They were shot at but no one was hit. Surrounded by open ground, Peter Broberg and the Oman family were trapped in their cabin. Late that afternoon three Dakota approached the Oman home. The six settlers inside managed to duck into the cellar through a trapdoor, and listened as the place was shot up and looted.
Finally the Dakota departed, though the Omans hid in the cellar until after sunset. They emerged and spent the night in the woods, encountering the superficially wounded Samuel Lundborg at dawn. The various survivors gathered on an island in a nearby lake. Two days after the attack, several settlers went to gather and bury the dead. The 13 killed — Anders (age 43), Christiana (36), Johannes (13), Andreas (10), and Christiana Broberg (7); Daniel (38), Anna Stina (30), Alfred (4), and John Broberg (10 months); Andreas (25), Gustaf (23), and Lars Lundborg (22), and Johannes Broberg (age and relation uncertain) — were all buried in a nearby field. Peter and the younger Anna Stina were the only members of their respective families to survive.
As the war broadened, many settlers fled the region. Anna Stina and Peter returned to the area 3 years later, though settlement didn't fully rebound until the 1890s. The victims were reburied in New London, Minnesota
New London, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,066 people, 415 households, and 261 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,103.4 people per square mile . There were 439 housing units at an average density of 454.4 per square mile...
, in 1891 and marked with a state-funded monument. Anna Stina had married another West Lake Settlement refugee in 1864 and they moved to Pennington County
Pennington County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,584 people, 5,525 households, and 3,552 families residing in the county. The population density was 22 people per square mile . There were 6,033 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile...
in northwestern Minnesota in 1880. She died in 1933 at the age of 87. Peter Broberg placed a memorial marker at the cabin site in a 1917 ceremony, and died in New London in 1925.
The Monson Lake Memorial Association
The notion of preserving the Broberg cabin site as a park came to a local resident named Ole Ellingboe on August 20, 1926, the 64th anniversary of the attack. The idea occurred to him while walking past the site on his way to church, where it was received favorably by the rest of the congregation. The next year the Monson Lake Memorial Association formed and raised $225 to buy 2 acre (0.809372 ha) from owner Albert Monson.The dedication of the private memorial park on August 21, 1927 drew 10,000 attendees. The Monson Lake Memorial Association continued to hold wildly popular annual events through the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, marked by speeches, plays, music, and refreshments. State and national politicians and other dignitaries attended. Following a hiatus during World War II, observances were sporadic but elaborate. The largest-ever attendance was 15,000 in 1958, Minnesota's centennial year. The 1962 event included a two-hour, four-act play.
From the beginning the observations presented only a European American perspective, treating the 13 white victims as veritable martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
s. It wasn't until 1987 that the injustices suffered by the Dakota were included in the programming. That event only drew a few hundred. The 1990 observation featured readings by poet and essayist Bill Holm
Bill Holm
Bill Holm may refer to:*Bill Holm , American artist, author and art historian*Bill Holm , American poet, essayist, memoirist, and musician from Minnesota...
.
New Deal development
Originally the 2 acre (0.809372 ha) park was privately owned by the Monson Lake Memorial Association. During the Great Depression, the Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
administration funded public works
Public works
Public works are a broad category of projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community...
projects to ease unemployment, and park development was a significant focus. To this end, in 1935 the Association convinced the Minnesota Emergency Relief Agency to purchase and expand the park. The Veterans Conservation Corps — a branch of the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
for unemployed World War I veterans — had a major camp at nearby Sibley State Park
Sibley State Park
Sibley State Park is a Minnesota state park near New London.It is set on Lake Andrew and, it was named for Henry Hastings Sibley, the first governor of the state. A city park in Mankato, Minnesota is also named for Sibley ....
, so a side camp was established at Monson Lake in 1936. The VCC men constructed a Sanitation Building and a Combination Building (a picnic shelter with a public cooking area and space for a concession
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
service). These were built in the National Park Service rustic
National Park Service Rustic
National Park Service rustic, also colloquially known as Parkitecture, is a style of architecture that arose in the United States National Park System to create buildings that harmonized with their natural environment. Since its founding, the National Park Service consistently has sought to provide...
style with local granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
and white oak. Crews from the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
created the gravel entrance road and parking lot. Monson Lake Memorial State Park, as it was originally named, was dedicated in 1938. Since it was designated a memorial state park, only limited recreational facilities were built.
In 1989 31 acres (12.5 ha) encompassing these structures were added to the National Register of Historic Places. Since low visitation has never spurred significant alterations, it is the only Minnesota state park that remains nearly unchanged from its original development.
Later history
In 1956 the original name Monson Lake Memorial State Park was shortened by officially dropping the word 'memorial.' Additional developments over the years included staff facilities, showers in the Sanitation Building, a boat ramp, and interpretive signage. During the 1962 centennial of the conflict, the Swift County Historical Society donated a memorial plaque. Aside from the irregular annual observances, usage of the state park remained limited. Legislation was even passed in 1965 to hand off the property as a local park, though this was never implemented.Monson Lake State Park remained 187 acres (75.7 ha) for decades, with its eastern border including only a sliver of West Sunberg Lake. In the mid-2000s the owners of an undeveloped hunting retreat to the east approached the park about selling to the state rather than a real estate developer
Real estate development
Real estate development, or Property Development, is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improved land or parcels to others...
. Their 158 acres (63.9 ha) included most of the rest of West Sunburg Lake and some of East Sunburg Lake. This is unusual because lakes in Minnesota remain public property
Public property
Public property is property, which is dedicated to the use of the public. It is a subset of state property. The term may be used either to describe the use to which the property is put, or to describe the character of its ownership...
, but in the 1930s the Sunburg Lakes had been dry and the ownership rights were bought and sold. Approvals and fund appropriation took the state three years, and the $395,000 purchase was finalized in June 2009. The new parcel comprises 44 acres (17.8 ha) of land and 114 acres (46.1 ha) of water, with 10200 feet (3,109 m) of shoreline. The new parcel will be managed as a refuge
Wildlife refuge
A wildlife refuge, also called a wildlife sanctuary, may be a naturally occurring sanctuary, such as an island, that provides protection for species from hunting, predation or competition, or it may refer to a protected area, a geographic territory within which wildlife is protected...
for waterfowl
Waterfowl
Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....
.
Recreation
Activities at Monson Lake State Park include birdwatchingBirdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
, camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
, canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, and picnicking. The campground has just 20 sites and is only open in summer. There is a boat ramp on Monson Lake and the park has two canoes and a rowboat available for rent. Game fish in Monson Lake are walleye
Walleye
Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...
, northern pike
Northern Pike
The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...
, largemouth bass
Largemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
, black crappie, yellow perch
Yellow perch
The yellow perch is a species of perch found in the United States and Canada, where it is often referred to by the shortform perch. Yellow perch look similar to the European perch, but are paler and more yellowish, with less red in the fins. They have six to eight dark, vertical bars on their sides...
, and bluegill
Bluegill
The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...
. The walleye are stocked
Fish stocking
Fish stocking is the practice of raising fish in a hatchery and releasing them into a river, lake, or the ocean to supplement existing populations, or to create a population where none exists...
biennially. 1.2 miles (1.9 km) of trail currently trace through the park. A canoe route starts at the boat ramp, leads across Monson Lake, and traverses a 463 feet (141.1 m) portage
Portage
Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...
into West Sunburg Lake. In winter snowshoe
Snowshoe
A snowshoe is footwear for walking over the snow. Snowshoes work by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area so that the person's foot does not sink completely into the snow, a quality called "flotation"....
ing is allowed anywhere in the park.