Lake Minnetonka
Lake Minnetonka | |
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Settlements | Deephaven Excelsior Greenwood Minnetonka Minnetonka Beach Minnetrista Mound Orono Shorewood Spring Park Tonka Bay Victoria Wayzata Woodland |
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. |
Lake Minnetonka (
History
Early history
The first people who inhabited the Lake Minnetonka area were indigenous natives who migrated to the region at the end of the last ice age circa 8000 BCE. Later peoples who inhabited the area between 3500 BCE and 1500 CE are commonly referred to collectively as the "Mound Builders" because they constructed large land features serving spiritual, ceremonial, burial, and elite residential functions. The Mound Builder culture reached its apex circa 1150 CE and ceased to exist circa 1500 CE.
By the 1700s Lake Minnetonka was inhabited by the
The first White Americans known to have visited Lake Minnetonka were two teenage boys, Joe Brown and Will Snelling, who canoed up Minnehaha Creek from Fort Saint Anthony in 1822.[4] However, few other Euro-Americans visited the lake or even knew of its existence for three subsequent decades.
Lake Minnetonka was officially named by Minnesota's territorial governor,
Resort years
The construction of
Large
The lake's first
Many of Lake Minnetonka's visitors began finding new places to vacation as the railroads expanded westward in the 1890s, causing most of the lake's hotels and steamboats to suffer financially and cease operations. Some hotels burned during this time, but most were demolished or dismantled. By 1900, however, an increasing number of families had begun to construct private summer cottages around Lake Minnetonka. Permanent homes and grand country estates also began to appear around the lake as the Twin Cities metropolitan area grew. Some of these homes and cottages still exist, including the Thompson Summer House in Minnetonka Beach.
Golden years
In 1905 the
Ridership on the streetcar boats began to plummet when roads were improved in the area in the early 1920s. Steamboat service on Lake Minnetonka grew evermore limited during this time, and by 1926 TCRT had suspended all steamboat service on the lake. To rid itself of the vessels, TCRT
Crane Island, an island near the western shore of the lake, was organized as a summer cottage retreat in 1907. The Crane Island Association platted a number of lots around the perimeter of the island and dedicated a commons area at its center. Many of the island's original cottages remain, and today it is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[5]
Several of the area's most prestigious country clubs, including the Lafayette Club, Minnetonka Country Club, and Woodhill Country Club, were also founded during this period.
Late 20th century
Fred W. Pearce, a well-known
In 1926 architect Frank Lloyd Wright and his mistress Olga Hinzengberg were arrested for allegedly violating the Mann Act while vacationing at a cottage in Tonka Bay. The charges were soon dropped after allegations against them were found untrue.
Before gaining national fame in the early 1940s, LaVerne, Maxene, and Patty Andrews of The Andrews Sisters spent their summers with relatives in Mound, a town in an area known as Westonka. The trio often returned to the area later in life as well.
In 1946 Mound Metalcraft was established in Mound. The company changed its name to Tonka Toys in the 1950s, when it became known for manufacturing toy trucks. Tonka Toys was purchased by Hasbro in 1991 and is no longer based in Minnesota.
Two F4
The steamboat
National Historic Districts and Places
The Lake Minnetonka area is home to two National Historic Districts: the Crane Island Historic District and The Water Street Historic District in the community of Excelsior.[6] It is also home to 6 National Register of Historic Places sites.
Natural history and limnology
Geography
Lake Minnetonka was formed approximately 10,000 years ago as the Laurentide Ice Sheet receded northward. The lake is a collection of kettle lakes connected by channels and marshlands which, along with 18 islands, form its irregular shape and 125 miles (201 km) of shoreline. Lake Minnetonka is divided into two halves, the Upper Lake in the west and the Lower Lake in the east, which reflect the easterly flow of water in the lake's watershed. The deepest point of Lake Minnetonka is 113 feet (34 m) in Crystal Bay. The average depth of the lake is approximately 30 feet (9 m). With a surface area of 14,528 acres (5,879 ha), Lake Minnetonka is the ninth largest lake in Minnesota.[7]
Lake Minnetonka bays and lakes[8]
- Black Lake
- Brown's Bay
- Carman's/Old Channel Bay
- Carson's Bay
- Cook's Bay
- Crystal Bay
- East Upper Lake
- Emerald Lake
- Excelsior Bay
- Forest Lake
- Gideon's Bay
- Gray's Bay
- Halsted's Bay
- Harrison's Bay
- Jenning's Bay
- Lafayette Bay
- Libb's Lake
- Maxwell Bay
- North Arm Bay
- North Lower Lake
- Peavy Lake
- Phelp's Bay
- Priest's Bay
- Robinson's Bay
- St. Alban's Bay
- St. Louis Bay
- Seton Lake
- Smith's Bay
- Smithtown Bay
- South Lower Lake & Echo Bay
- South Upper Lake
- Spring Park Bay
- Stubb's Bay
- Tanager Lake
- Wayzata Bay
- West Arm Bay
- West Upper Lake
Hydrology
Several streams flow into Lake Minnetonka, the largest of which is Six Mile Creek. The only outlet from the lake is
Lake Minnetonka typically freezes over with 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 centimetres) of ice during the winter months. The median "ice-out" date, which has been recorded on Lake Minnetonka since 1855, is April 14. The earliest recorded ice-out date was March 11, 1878, and the latest recorded ice-out date was May 8, 1856. Water surface temperatures typically peak at around 80°F (26.7°C) in early August.
Freshwater biology
Lake Minnetonka contains
According to local legend, a
Environmental issues
Lake Minnetonka's
Lake Minnetonka suffered from significant sewage, fertilizer, and surface runoff pollution until the 1970s. Conditions have since improved, but pollution from fertilizer and surface runoff remains an ongoing issue. Water quality is now closely monitored.
It is not uncommon for some Lake Minnetonka
Lake Minnetonka's environment is currently overseen by three separate agencies. These include the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Attractions and activities
Some of the most visited attractions on Lake Minnetonka are restaurants. Al & Alma's Supper Club and Charter Cruises was founded in Mound in 1956 and is Lake Minnetonka's oldest continually-operated restaurant and cruise line. Lord Fletcher's restaurant in Spring Park has been one of Lake Minnetonka's most popular establishments since opening in 1968. Maynards Restaurant, established in Excelsior in 1998, is another popular waterfront restaurant. Downtown Excelsior and Wayzata have since become Twin Cities culinary destinations as many new restaurants continue to appear there.[citation needed]
The
Lake Minnetonka is home to several regional parks owned by
Other activities on Lake Minnetonka include
Several community festivals are held around the lake each year. Some of the larger events include James J. Hill Days in Wayzata, Apple Day in Excelsior, and the Spirit of the Lakes Festival in Mound.
In popular culture
Thurlow Lieurance's song "By the Waters of Minnetonka" was published by the Theodore Presser Company in 1913 and has since been recorded by artists such as Glenn Miller and Desi Arnaz.
Singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt's self-titled debut album was recorded at an abandoned summer camp on Lake Minnetonka's Enchanted Island in 1971.[13]
Several scenes from the 1972 films The Heartbreak Kid and Slaughterhouse-Five were filmed at Lake Minnetonka.
Perhaps the best known association is that with local music icon Prince. His third album, Dirty Mind, was recorded at a home on Lake Minnetonka's North Arm in 1980. Prince rented and lived at the home between 1979 and early 1981.[14] He ultimately settled in Chanhassen, approximately two miles south of Lake Minnetonka, in 1987. Lake Minnetonka is famously mentioned in the 1984 film Purple Rain during a scene in which The Kid (Prince) tells his love interest (Apollonia Kotero) to "purify [herself] in the waters of Lake Minnetonka." After she enters the water, Prince reveals that the water she has entered is not actually Lake Minnetonka. Dave Chappelle mocked the scene in a 2004 episode of Chappelle's Show when he asked (as Prince), "Why don't you purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka?" while winning a basketball game.
In an episode of the television series
Lake Minnetonka received some unwanted national attention in October 2005 following an incident known as the Minnesota Vikings boat party scandal.
Lake Minnetonka was briefly featured in the reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians in 2011.
Shots of Lake Minnetonka were included in the lyric video for the 2015 song "Cool for the Summer" by Demi Lovato.
Several scenes from the 2017 film Wilson were filmed at Lake Minnetonka.
In insurance, lake side properties of Lake Minnetonka's shore side is considered to be the front door, rather than the road side, called the Waterfront (area).
See also
- List of lakes of Minnesota
- Excelsior, Minnesota
- Wayzata, Minnesota
- Westonka
- Minnehaha (steamboat)
- Minnehaha Creek Watershed District
References
- ^ OCLC 32050105.
- ^ "Water on the Web | Data | West Upper Bay |". www.waterontheweb.org. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
- ^ "Lake Minnetonka Information | Orono, MN". www.ci.orono.mn.us. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- ^ www.ci.edina.mn.us https://web.archive.org/web/20110718121451/http://www.ci.edina.mn.us/PDFs/AboutTown/L4-91_AboutTown_2002Winter.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2011.
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(help) - ISBN 978-0-87351-363-0.
- ^ Tribune, Katy Read Star. "Downtown Excelsior, the Steamboat Minnehaha named to the National Register of Historic Places". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
- ^ "The Ten Largest Lakes in Minnesota". Minnesota Fun Facts. 2010-04-20. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
- ^ "Key to numbered bays of lake Minnetonka" (PDF). Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
- ^ MN DNR. 2007-06-11. Archivedfrom the original on 2013-07-26.
- ^ "Boys haul monster sturgeon from Minnehaha Creek". MPR News. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
- ^ "Big Island scene plays a part in outbreak, health officials suspect". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
- ^ "Boating Trends on Lake Minnetonka, 1984 TO 2004" (PDF). November 2005.
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(help) - ^ "Bonnie Raitt's First Album Recorded on Lake Minnetonka | Lake Minnetonka". Community Life Magazine. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
- ^ Delegard, Kirsten; Lansing, Michael; Zschomler, Kristen. "Prince's residence and studio - 680 North Arm Drive, Orono". Augsburg Digi-Tours. Retrieved 2021-08-18.