Shakopee in Scott County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

What Once Was

Pathways of Shakopee History

— A self-guided tour on the development of the City of Shakopee —

What Once Was Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, September 2, 2022

1. What Once Was Marker

Inscription.
When glaciers melted, the meltwater created Lake Agassiz, which was bigger than the Great Lakes. The lake drained over the years, creating the massive River Warren. The river carved out the Minnesota River Valley and started from the bluffs by Flying Cloud Drive all the way to the bluffs on the south side of the valley.

For generations, Dakota families fished from the river, gathered rice from area lakes, and hunted game on the prairie and in the woodlands along the river bottoms.

From the Minnesota River on south, tall grass prairies extended for over three miles. Besides the prairie, wetlands, and open water, oak savanna habitat and widely spaced prairie vegetation with bur oaks occupied the area now called Southbridge development, between here and the hardwood forests.

Erected by Pathways of Shakopee History; and Shakopee Heritage Society. (Marker Number 1.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Anthropology & Archaeology • Native Americans • Waterways & Vessels.

Location. 44° 48.118′ N, 93° 30.201′ W. Marker is in Shakopee, Minnesota, in Scott County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of County Road 101 (Business U.S. 169)

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and Sarazin Street, on the right when traveling west. Marker is located along the Pathways of Shakopee History Trail, which begins near the west end of Memorial Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1801 County Road 101, Shakopee MN 55379, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Powerful Names (within shouting distance of this marker); Rollin' Down the River 1842 (within shouting distance of this marker); On The River Bottoms (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Pond Mission (about 400 feet away); Betting, Booze & Speakeasies • 1920-1940 (about 400 feet away); The Railroad to Shakopee 1865 (about 500 feet away); Stagecoaches to Shakopee (about 500 feet away); The Springs (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Shakopee.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Pathways of Shakopee History Trail

Also see . . . Lake Agassiz.

A continental ice sheet covered much of central North America between 30,000 and 10,000 years ago. As the ice sheet disintegrated, its meltwaters created an immense proglacial lake, Lake Agassiz. At times the lake drained south through the Traverse Gap into Glacial River Warren (parent to the Minnesota River, a tributary of the Mississippi River). The lowest point between the drainage of Hudson Bay and

2. Marker detail: Shakopee Map
Drawn by A. Ruger & Stoner, Madison, Wis.
Chicago Lithogr. Co. № 150, 152 & 154 S. Clark St.
the Gulf of Mexico is in the Traverse Gap between the U.S. states of Minnesota and South Dakota. This continental divide is about 980 feet above sea level. When Lake Agassiz existed, the gap was the outlet to River Warren. The outflow from the melting glaciers filled Lake Agassiz and then drained through the gap to the Gulf of Mexico. This mass of moving water eroded a valley 1.2–3.1 miles wide and from 100 feet to 125 feet deep. Today, this valley contains the Minnesota River, joined by the Upper Mississippi River at Fort Snelling, Minnesota.

(Submitted on December 29, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Marker detail: Minnesota River Valley image. Click for full size.

Courtesy Scott County Historical Society

3. Marker detail: Minnesota River Valley

Marker detail: Timeline Photos image. Click for full size.

4. Marker detail: Timeline Photos

5. Marker detail: Timeline Photos

6. Marker detail: Timeline Photos

7. Marker detail: Timeline Photos

Marker detail: Timeline Photo image. Click for full size.

8. Marker detail: Timeline Photo

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, September 2, 2022

9. What Once Was Marker

(looking east along Pathways of Shakopee History Trail • Memorial Park in background)

Credits. This page was last revised on December 30, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 28, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 207 times since then and 77 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 28, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. submitted on December 29, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 9. submitted on December 28, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.