A New Jewel of a State Park
John Tuma’s Capitol Update – Summer Edition, June 18, 2010
“The eye takes in a score or more graceful promontories, capes and peninsulas, – running their moss and pine covered points down into the Lake. . .”
- Ossian E. Dodge, St. Paul Pioneer, September 20, 1865
The “Lake” that Ossian E. Dodge was referring to in his report to the St. Paul Pioneer newspaper in 1865 was that of Lake Vermilion. With the recent closing on the purchase of the 3,000 acres from the U.S. Steel Co. setting the stage for the development of the first new major state park in nearly 30 years, it is worth reflecting on its creation. The above quote from Mr. Dodge points out that this fifth largest lake in Minnesota has long played a critical role in our history.
This beautiful lake was a part of the fur trading highways that weaved across the many lakes and rivers of our great state. Lake Vermilion was a critical connecting point between the northern fur trading superhighways of the Pigeon and Rainy Rivers with that of the St. Louis and Mississippi Rivers. As the Civil War was wrapping up, the Minnesota government started looking north for possible mineral development. In 1865 Governor Stephen Miller commissioned Henry Eames to explore the region for its mineral exploitation possibilities.
Mr. Dodge was sent along with Eames by the St. Paul Pioneer newspaper. Dodge was an interesting character. He was a renowned singer, guitarist and comedian who amassed a small fortune as an entertainer in the Northeast. Catching the pioneer fever, he set his sights on opportunities in Minnesota, where he invested largely in land speculation and eventually amassed a significant fortune. Seeing the opportunity to gain greater knowledge of this great land, he jumped at the opportunity to be a correspondent on this expedition where he wrote under the pseudonym “Oro Fino” (Latin for gold). The conclusion of the above quote was “. . . running their moss and pine covered points down into the Lake, as if to cool their metallic palates already burning to be unbosomed by the restless hands of enterprising miners.”
This was the era of gold fever where it was easy to ignore the beauty for the exploits. Reports from Vermilion soon fed the speculation of the next great Gold Rush, following only some 16 years after gold fever hit California. Minnesota papers quickly began reporting enthusiastically that Minnesota would be the new California, with thousands streaming to Lake Vermilion. In 1866 several of the leading Minnesota land speculators and businessmen put together mining crews made up mostly of newly released Civil War veterans looking for work. On the east side of the lake in Pikes Bay, not far from the present location of the new park, sprang up a gold mining boomtown that soon went bust. They discovered that the gold was locked in rocks far too hard for the present equipment to extract. What they did discover, however, is that the region was rich with iron ore that would take a couple of decades before it would be fully exploited.
What these miners overlooked in their quest for riches is one of the most pristine jewels in Minnesota’s landscape. Lake Vermilion has over 400,000 acres dotted with over 300 stately islands and breathtaking Northwoods vistas. The lake has 341 miles of shoreline. When combined with the Soudan Underground Mine State Park, the new park will have preserved over 10 miles of the amazing shoreline for all Minnesotans to enjoy. I also have a soft spot in my heart for the Lake from many fishing trips with good friends, and not very far from the new park is where I caught my personal record walleye.
Therefore, it’s worth reflecting on some of the champions who made this great park become a reality. Certainly Governor Pawlenty and DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten deserve recognition. Going against the tide of Republican politics that is moving away from state land ownership, and considering the state budget crisis, it was a bold risk to move forward with a new major state park. In the long run, these two individuals will likely be best known for this great accomplishment.
Many involved in the park’s development also give credit to First Lady Mary Pawlenty for being a strong persistent supporter of this park. This is not surprising to those of us who worked on the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Constitutional Amendment. We found that support for conserving and protecting our state’s natural resources for our children and grandchildren was strong amongst women regardless of their party affiliation. The First Lady deserves credit for her vision of a great park for all of Minnesota to enjoy for many generations into the future.
A park of this magnitude cannot happen without key people within the state agencies. Though the environment community has been battling with the DNR Lands and Minerals Division over future gold and copper mining in the region, the folks within that division deserve credit for carefully guiding this project to a final closing. Thanks to the patience and careful work of Marty Vadis, Director of Lands and Minerals, and Craig Engwall, DNR Regional Director at Grand Rapids, this particular gold mine of a state park is a reality. We’ll keep working with you to make sure that any other gold mines in the state are not a disaster, but thank you for your leadership for all of Minnesota — a job well done.
As a Capitol observer, there were four key players behind the scenes who I thought made this actually happen at the right time. Toward the end of the 2008 Legislative Session, Judy Erickson from the Parks and Trails Council and Molly Schultz from Conservation Minnesota/MEP hatched a strategy to combine some transit projects vetoed by the Governor which the DFL wanted, with the state park development which the Republican Governor wanted, and as a result were able to create a bipartisan initiative. Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL-St. Paul) took this initiative, and with the persistence of past voyageurs paddling through Lake Vermilion, kept pressing on until this concept became a reality at the Legislature.
Also deserving credit is Sen. Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook), who helped negotiate the final pieces to authorize the park in the last hours of the legislative session. This was a huge political risk for Sen. Bakk to support more state land in an area that is constantly fighting the State regarding what some see as too much publicly owned land in their area. Though we often disagree with Sen. Bakk on various issues, he certainly deserves credit for courage on this particular project.
Finally, also deserving great credit is former State Representative Darby Nelson, who in 2008 before anybody knew of the possibility of Vermilion State Park, was walking the marble halls of the Capitol relentlessly talking with legislators about the future jewel of a state park on Lake Vermilion.
Now the challenge will be on its future development, and thanks to voters like you an appropriately developed state park can be a reality. With the passage of the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, Minnesota now has the resources to make this great state park a true jewel for future generations. I think even Mr. Dodge, given a little more than 150 years of history, would agree we may not have found a gold mine, but we have certainly found one of the crown jewels of our state parks system.
