|
 Itasca State Park Centennial, 1891-1991, Itasca State Park, MN
N 47° 14.400 W 095° 12.687
15T E 332630 N 5234207
This Centennial Marker is located near the parking lot at the northern visitor center at Itasca State Park.
Waymark Code: WMKYDQ
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 06/14/2014
Views: 2
This Centennial Marker is located near the parking lot at the northern visitor center at Itasca State Park. The text reads:
“The name “Itasca” was coined specifically from the Latin words “Veritas Caput” – literally meaning “true head” – by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft in 1832. Led by Ozawindib, an Ojibwe guide who knew the upper reaches of the Mississippi River and its headwaters lakes, Schoolcraft was able to document the true source of America’s greatest river, a feat that had eluded many previous explorers, including Zebulon Pike, Lewis Cass, and Giacomo Beltrami.
More than a half century passed before surveyor Jacob V. Brower, known today as the “father of Itasca,” began his efforts to establish the area as a state park. At a time when most of Minnesota was not yet homesteaded and logging was the state’s major industry, Brower struggled against tremendous odds and opposition to preserve this special place for future generations. Finally, in 1891, the legislature passed by one vote an act establishing 20,000 acres around Lake Itasca as Minnesota’s first state park. Brower was named the first park commissioner, a position from which he staunchly fought poachers, politicians, and lumbermen. While he only partially succeeded in stopping logging before his death in 1905, he predicted that Itasca “will become easily accessible and of great value as a public resort,” a remarkably accurate vision.
On the centennial of this park, 32,000 acres are now protected and enjoyed by over a half million visitors each year. Efforts are underway to begin a major pine restoration program to ensure the existence of giant pines and a diverse northwoods ecosystem for the next century and beyond. 1991.
Subject: Territory
Commemoration: Centennial
Date of Founding: 1891
Date of Commemoration: 1991
Address:
Itasca State Park
Lake Itasca, MN
Overview Photograph:
Yes
Detail Photograph:
Yes
Web site if available: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:
- Artistic Photograph of Location. Make it from a new angle to show something new. Pictures can include interaction, as that is encouraged, but should be done so with the thought of inspiring further visitation of the area. No GPSr Pictures, unless there is something significant to show about the coordinates.
- In your description, tell us something new you learned about the area and your impressions of the waymark.
|