Glaciers formed our hills and carved out the shallows and basins of our surrounding waters. After the water receded, a dense forest grew.

Native Americans were the first to love this land. They fought great battles over the rights to preserve their hunting and fishing grounds.

For quite a few years after the settlement of Fort Snelling and St. Anthony Falls, the tribes managed to keep this great lake a secret.

The Lake was discovered by white settlers around 1850. Hunters, trappers, and homesteaders lived off the lush animal life and foliage. Lumbermen harvested the forest. As large as it was, the woods soon fell to the constant demand for lumber and firewood for the beginnings of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

Soon, a railroad pushed westward from Minneapolis to Minnetonka Mills. People were eager to fish, to hunt, and to enjoy the many pleasures offered by this water wonderland. It was fashionable in the 1870s to seek curative waters, said to heal any disease or malady. Invalids from all over the country traveled to the Lake with high hopes.