Near Shevlin in Clearwater County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Itasca Lake

Source of the Mississippi River

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 12, 2013

1. Itasca Lake Marker

Inscription. Discovered by
Henry R. Schoolcraft
from the
summit of this hill
July 13, 1832

This tablet is placed by the
Society of Colonial Dames of America
in the State of Minnesota
1924

Erected 1924 by Society of Colonial Dames of America.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Exploration • Parks & Recreational Areas • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the The Colonial Dames of America, National Society of series list. A significant historical date for this entry is July 13, 1832.

Location. 47° 11.686′ N, 95° 10.201′ W. Marker is near Shevlin, Minnesota, in Clearwater County. It can be reached from Park Drive half a mile County Highway 48. Marker is located along the park trail, near cabin #7, about 2/10 mile north of the Douglas Lodge. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Shevlin MN 56676, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Minnesota’s Northland. It is also in the American Midwest,

in the Corn Belt,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Great North Woods,

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 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: From a Day When Trees Were Trees (approx. 0.2 miles away); Douglas Lodge (approx. 0.2 miles away); Geology of Minnesota (approx. 1.2 miles away); Theodore and Johanna Wegmann (approx. 3½ miles away); Wegmann Store Replica

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(approx. 3½ miles away); Old Northwest Territory (approx. 3.6 miles away); Search for the Mississippi's Source (approx. 3.6 miles away); Patterson's Homestead (approx. 3.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Shevlin.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Search for the Mississippi Headwaters

Also see . . .
1. Lake Itasca (Wikipedia). It is notable for being the headwaters of the Mississippi River, and is located in southeastern Clearwater County, in the Headwaters area of north central Minnesota, within Itasca State Park. Henry Schoolcraft identified Lake Itasca as the river's primary source in 1832. (Submitted on September 5, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. About the Mississippi River headwaters. The river's channel appears much as it did when Henry Rowe Schoolcraft discovered the source in 1832. Water ripples across a sandy gravel bottom through a channel lined with cattails, tamarack trees, and sedge. (Submitted on September 5, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 12, 2013

2. Itasca Lake Marker

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 13, 2013

3. Lake Itasca

(looking northeast from Brower Trail near marker)

Mississippi Headwaters image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 13, 2013

4. Mississippi Headwaters

(north end of Lake Itasca — about 3½ miles northeast of marker)

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, August 13, 2013

5. Lake Itasca

(looking east from west shoreline near marker)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 6, 2020. It was originally submitted on September 5, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 572 times since then and 44 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 5, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 3, 4, 5. submitted on September 6, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.