lake city history

Civilian Conservation Camp here was one of almost 150 in the state

Jul 20, 2022

From 1936 to 1942 the U.S. Army’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) operated CCC Camp 713 on the site of Camp Lakeview, the former Lake City National Guard Camp, and site of the present-day Lake City Sportsman’s Club. The CCC Program was part of President Roosevelt’s 1933 New Deal legislation. It...

New book chronicles three area disasters

Jun 15, 2022

Southeast Minnesota has experienced many powerful natural disasters, and Lake City author Steve Gardiner explores three of them in his most recent book Historic Disasters in Southeast Minnesota published by The History Press. Gardiner’s book looks at the wreck of the Sea Wing in 1890, the...

Why History Matters essay contest first place entry

Jun 1, 2022

Editor's note: The following essay won first prize in the Why History Matters essay contest (see related story). Incorporated in 1872, Lake City has flourished as a beautiful town beside the Mississippi River for 150 years. Historians and the people of Lake City have contributed greatly to the...

Local history is very much alive

Apr 27, 2022

The Lake City sesquicentennial year was highlighted through the efforts of St. John’s Lutheran School Living History event. This year’s focus was on notable early settlers in Lake City. The 150th committee and Lake City Historical Society assisted with information from which students could select...

Students bring local history to life

Apr 27, 2022

An estimated 200 people attended the Living History Wax Museum event put on by St. John’s Lutheran School and Roots to Wings Learning Center on April 22. The event is an annual tradition at the school, but since Lake City is celebrating its sesquicentennial this year, this year’s wax museum...

St. John’s Living History Museum is Friday, April 22, in Patton Park

Apr 20, 2022

The students of St. John’s Lutheran School and Roots to Wings Learning Center are inviting the public “to watch history come alive by visiting our Living History Wax Museum,” the school said in a news release. The annual event will take place on Friday, April 22 in Patton Park. “This year’s...

Local history includes broken treaty, plunder

Mar 23, 2022

I’m a sentimental type. I live in a 1928 art deco house of wood from the old growth giants of the west. A nice touch for the 150th would be a Model A parked at this house built for the jovial and well-liked shoe merchant Abraham. I reviewed my Abstract of Title. The first Anglicized name is...

Articles’ ‘Half-breed tract’ statements were incorrect

Mar 2, 2022

On pages 1 and 4 of the Feb. 24, 2022 Lake City Graphic, it incorrectly states that the “half-breed tract” complicated and delayed efforts to incorporate the city. It did not. While it is true that the existence of the tract, a legal Reservation, did delay the establishment of lawful land title,...

Happy to be a part of Library Friends’ success

Oct 21, 2020

I was so excited to see the article last week about the Friends of the Library. I love Lake City and having worked at the Rochester Public Library for 27 years, I naturally love our library. We have one of the best. It was so good to see the article about all the people who have volunteered to be...

Our memories in stone - Adna and Charity Sanford

Jul 10, 2019

The Lake City Historical Society has an on-going project to restore the legibility of stones marking the graves of people relevant to the early history of the community. (Checks to support this work should be mailed to LCHS, PO 245, Lake City, MN 55041.) For this issue of the Graphic, the featured...