Minneopa State Park
From Mankatopedia
| 54497 Gadwall Road., Mankato·507-389-5464·dnr.state.mn.us/minneopa |
Minneopa State Park is a state park on the Minnesota River just west of Mankato. Its main feature is a large double waterfall known as Minneopa Falls.
There is a large picnic shelter next to the upper falls. A footbridge, built in 1921, crosses over the river between the upper and lower falls, connecting trails on both sides of the river, with steps down to the river below the falls on both sides of the valley. As one of the most scenic venues in the Mankato area, Minneopa Falls is regularly used for outdoor weddings and photography.
Swimming is not advised due to bacteria present in the water. No playground equipment is located in the park. Restrooms are located near the picnic shelter.
The footbridge and some of the trails are paved and wheelchair accessible. Dirt trails along the river below the falls are accessible only by stairs.
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[edit] History of Minneopa Falls
[edit] Early history
Archaeologists have determined that people have been inhabiting the Minnesota River Valley as far back as 7,000 B.C. It is not known how long primitive people were aware of the falls but evidence has shown habitation of the late Woodland culture at least one thousand years ago. In this and later periods land downstream from the falls was used as a wintering area.
The name Minneopa comes from the Dakota language: minne(water), inne(falls) and nopa(two). During the early settler period it was called Minneinneopa and was eventually shortened to its present name.
Before European settlers arrived the area around Minneopa Falls was named Makatosa ("The Goose") by the Dakota, and was inhabited by the Sisseton, a Dakota tribe. Sintomniduta, chief of this tribe had a village about a half mile downstream from the falls. The Sisseton were known as the "Tribe of Sixes" because their lodges were arranged in groups of six.
The first settler to Minneopa Creek was Isaac Lyons who was called "Buckskin" Lyons by other pioneers. He moved here from Iowa with his wife and family and in July, 1853 built the first cabin on the Creek near the Village of Sintomniduta. A year later in August he constructed a small, water-powered sawmill. As more settlers located to the Minneopa Falls region they found peaceful co-existance with the Sisseton and the other tribes. The creek at that time was referred by pioneers as Falls Creek or Lyons Creek.
The Seppmann Windmill, located in the western area of the park, was a wind-powered grist mill built by Louis Seppmann, a German immigrant. The windmill is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, several rustic style structures built by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
[edit] Minneinneopa Resort
Miner Porter was probably the first person to develop the area into a resort. In the spring of 1858 he started to create a park that would attract visitors to the falls. Trees and flowers were planted, paths were laid out and a hotel was built. The resort was enclosed by a fence that included three arched gates for entryways and over the main entrance he had the name "Minneinneopa" painted.
On October 7, 1859 a fair was held on the grounds by the the Agricultural Society of Blue Earth County to "promote and encourage the science of agriculture." This was the first of what would become the Blue Earth County Fair.
How successful the resort might have been may never be known as both the Civil War and the Dakota Rebellion of 1862 had adverse financial affects on the future of the enterprise and by the end of that decade the park ceased to exist.
[edit] Town of Minneopa
One factor that helped enhance the development of Minneopa State Park was the coming of the railroad. In the late 1860s the St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad was working its way through the Southern Minnesota countryside from St. Paul and constructed depots in Le Sueur, St. Peter and Mankato. On November 6, 1869, the trestle work across Minneopa Creek was completed, the track was laid in two days and the railroad eventually continued on to Lake Crystal. The owner of Minneopa Falls at that time was D. C. Evans was and when the railroad company decided to locate a depot near the falls, he created a townsite called "Minneopa."
A few years earlier, in 1867, D. C. Evans had plans to sell the property to "a party from out east" but he was still in possession when, in August of 1869, he took out a newspaper ad asking for investors.
A story in the Mankato Record of February 26, 1870 stated that the St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad was putting up a grain and freight warehouse at the "Minneinneopa Station." A hotel, blacksmith shop and lumber yard soon followed. D. C. Evans cleared the area of brush and removed fallen trees from near the falls. He also constructed wooden steps going into the ravine and built bridges over the creek.
The town of Minneopa flourished and the Falls became a popular spot for picnics and church gatherings. But, alas, this prosperity was short lived. In 1873 a grasshopper plague, which lasted for three years, descended on Minnesota causing extensive destruction on farms. With three successive years of crop failure the town was unable to continue and was abandoned.
[edit] Minneopa State Park
Although the town of Minneopa ceased to exist, the falls was still a popular tourist attraction for visitors to gather, have picnics and enjoy the natural beauty of the area. In 1905, Blue Earth County state legislator, Ezra Gates introduced a bill that would designate the land which encompasses Minneopa Falls into a public State Park. The bill met with great success and on April 19, 1905 the bill was passed making Minneopa State Park the third state park in Minnesota.
The arch concrete foot bridge was constructed in 1921. This foot bridge has endured much use over the years as a convenient path over the creek and as place to relax and watch the water below cascade over the lower falls. Because the upper falls was in the process of disintigrating through erosion the Lundin Brothers of Mankato in 1928 built a wall of durable rock and cement under the hard limestone ledge. This allowed it to maintain its beauty as a waterfall rather than to erode into a series of rapids.
[edit] Links
- Friends of Minneopa
- History of Minneopa Falls - much of the content of this page taken from this link. Used with permission.
