Elk River Chain of Lakes Watershed - History

History

Various tribes of primarily Ojibwa native Americans were inhabiting the region with the arrival of the first white settlers, who began arriving in the middle of the 19th century to attempt farming. The thin soils and short, cool summers made traditional farming difficult, and the region remained sparsely settled until the 1880s, when lumber interests began exploiting the regions vast tracts of white pine forests. The waterway provided an excellent means of transporting logs down to sawmills located along the way. The arrival of the railroads in the 1890s accelerated lumbering and other economic activities, and brought in visitors from distant places, who marveled at the natural beauty of lakes and rivers of the chain, turning it into a major destination for vacationers from downstate and elsewhere. Scores of resorts cropped up on the shorelines of all the major lakes of the system, catering to fisherman and wild-life enthusiasts. By 1910, the lumber era had all but passed, and many of the towns and villages in the area that had prospered from its riches went into decline. Many of the regions farmers, having failed to get decent yields of traditional crops, either moved on, or turned to cultivation of fruit crops, most notably cherries, as the areas sandy soil and cool lake climate were found to be quite favorable for growing such produce. Fruit farming and tourism became, and is to this day, the leading economic activities of the region.