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There’s a Rich History in Lake of the Woods!

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There’s a Rich History in Lake of the Woods!

The history of the area goes back eons. During the Ice Age, four major ice sheets covered northern Minnesota. When the glaciers withdrew, a lake formed between the height of the land to the south and the ice walls to the north. Known as Glacial Lake Agassiz, it submerged the county as well as part of the rest of Minnesota, North Dakota and a large portion of Canada. Eventually this lake shrank to leave the Lake of the Woods as a remnant body of water. The waters of the Lake of the Woods, like those of Lake Agassiz, flow north to empty into Hudson Bay. Lake of the Woods is the biggest lake in Minnesota hosting 14,000 islands & 1 million acres of water stretching from Minnesota into Canada.

Native Americans, especially the Anishinaabe (Chippewa) band in more recent years were the first known settlers to the area. The area was explored by voyageurs, trappers, traders, missionaries and more that were intrigued by the beauty and potential of the area.

The lake area also attracted loggers and commercial fishermen. The sport fishermen came last, but have staked the biggest, most sustainable claim on the Lake. Commercial netting was ceased back in the 1970’s on the Minnesota side of the Lake and the sport fishing has become consistently more productive with a healthy population of good eating size walleyes and breeding stock. Click here to learn more about Lake of the Woods.