Father Hennepin State Park
Encyclopedia
Father Hennepin State Park is a 320 acre (1.3 km²) Minnesota
state park located on the southeast corner of Mille Lacs Lake
. The park is named after Father Louis Hennepin
, a priest who visited the area with a French expedition in 1680. The park has 103 campsites and a sandy beach over one mile (1.6 km) long.
priest of the Recollet order, was dispatched to explore western New France
in 1680. Hennepin is not thought to have been in the exact location of the park, but the park is named after him because he was the first to write extensively about the Mille Lacs area. He called the area Louisiana
in honor of King Louis XIV of France
. In the spring of 1680 he and two companions encountered a group of Dakota
Indians and were captured, about 15 miles (24.1 km) from today's Father Hennepin State Park. Their release was negotiated eight months later by Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut
. Throughout the experience, Father Hennepin kept a journal describing the lakes, rivers, landscapes, and the lifestyle of his hosts, the Mdewakanton Dakota. In 1683 his writings were published in the book Description de la Louisiane.
Local advocates and Catholic groups were instrumental in getting the park established in the years before World War II
. The Minnesota Legislature
was reluctant to fund a new park, but when 129 acre (0.52204494 km²) of tax-forfeited land were acquired at little cost, Father Hennepin State Memorial Park was authorized in 1941. However a provision was inserted into the bill barring any state funds from supporting the park for the first five years. County and local funds only went so far, and the park remained largely undeveloped until 1953 when the Minnesota state park system instituted an entrance fee.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
state park located on the southeast corner of Mille Lacs Lake
Mille Lacs Lake
Mille Lacs Lake is a lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in the counties of Mille Lacs, Aitkin and Crow Wing, roughly 100 miles north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area....
. The park is named after Father Louis Hennepin
Louis Hennepin
Father Louis Hennepin, O.F.M. baptized Antoine, was a Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Recollect order and an explorer of the interior of North America....
, a priest who visited the area with a French expedition in 1680. The park has 103 campsites and a sandy beach over one mile (1.6 km) long.
Cultural history
Father Louis Hennepin, a FranciscanFranciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
priest of the Recollet order, was dispatched to explore western New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
in 1680. Hennepin is not thought to have been in the exact location of the park, but the park is named after him because he was the first to write extensively about the Mille Lacs area. He called the area Louisiana
Louisiana (New France)
Louisiana or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682–1763 and 1800–03, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle...
in honor of King Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
. In the spring of 1680 he and two companions encountered a group of Dakota
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
Indians and were captured, about 15 miles (24.1 km) from today's Father Hennepin State Park. Their release was negotiated eight months later by Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut
Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut
Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut was a French soldier and explorer who is the first European known to have visited the area where the city of Duluth, Minnesota is now located and the headwaters of the Mississippi River near Grand Rapids...
. Throughout the experience, Father Hennepin kept a journal describing the lakes, rivers, landscapes, and the lifestyle of his hosts, the Mdewakanton Dakota. In 1683 his writings were published in the book Description de la Louisiane.
Local advocates and Catholic groups were instrumental in getting the park established in the years before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The Minnesota Legislature
Minnesota Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the legislative branch of government in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is a bicameral legislature located at the Minnesota Capitol in Saint Paul and it consists of two houses: the lower Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate...
was reluctant to fund a new park, but when 129 acre (0.52204494 km²) of tax-forfeited land were acquired at little cost, Father Hennepin State Memorial Park was authorized in 1941. However a provision was inserted into the bill barring any state funds from supporting the park for the first five years. County and local funds only went so far, and the park remained largely undeveloped until 1953 when the Minnesota state park system instituted an entrance fee.