Lake City in Wabasha County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Ralph W. Samuelson

"Father of Water Skiing"

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 10, 2013

1. Ralph W. Samuelson Marker

Inscription. “If we had a way of foreordaining these things, we couldn’t have picked a finer father of water skiing than Ralph Samuelson. He has been an amazing asset to the sport ever since he discovered it on Lake Pepin, Lake City, Minnesota, largely because of his modesty and his genuine wonderment at what he started quite innocently back in 1922.”
Thomas C. Hardman
American Water Ski Association
Winter Haven, Florida, 1976

”If I had it to do over again I couldn’t have chosen a better place to have it happen than at Lake City, Minnesota, on beautiful Lake Pepin.”
Ralph W. Samuelson
”Father of Water Skiing”

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Entertainment • Sports. A significant historical year for this entry is 1922.

Location. 44° 27.163′ N, 92° 16.059′ W. Marker is in Lake City, Minnesota, in Wabasha County. It is on Park Street just north of East Walnut Street, on the right when traveling north. Marker and sculpture are located near the northwest end of Ohuta Park, overlooking the Mississippi River. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Lake City MN 55041,

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United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Minnesota.

It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Corn Belt,

in the Driftless Area — Bluff Country,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The First Settler (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Ralph Samuelson (about 600 feet away); Gold Star Memorial (approx. ¼ mile away); Patton Park (approx. 0.3 miles away); Louis McCahill Memorial Park (approx. 0.4 miles away); Historic Lake Pepin: Birthplace of Waterskiing (approx. half a mile away); A Very Old Fish Story (approx. half a mile away); The Sea Wing Disaster (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lake City.

Also see . . . Ralph Samuelson (Wikipedia). Ralph Wilford Samuelson was the inventor of water skiing,

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 10, 2013

2. Ralph W. Samuelson Marker

which he first performed in the summer of 1922 in Lake City, Minnesota, just before his 19th birthday. He was already skilled at aquaplaning — standing on a board while being pulled by a powerboat — but he hoped to create something like snow skiing on the water. Lake Pepin, a wide portion of the Mississippi River between Minnesota and Wisconsin, was the venue for his experiments. (Submitted on July 29, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 10, 2013

3. Ralph W. Samuelson Marker

(Mississippi River in background)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 29, 2020. It was originally submitted on July 29, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 528 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 29, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.