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

Roseau River Water Trail

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 19, 2024

1. Roseau River Water Trail Marker

Inscription.
The River
The Roseau River is a 214-mile-long tributary of the Red River of the North. The river originates in the extensive wetlands of the Beltrami Island State Forest and runs north and west across Roseau County before entering Manitoba, Canada just west of Caribou, Minnesota in Kittson County. French fur traders called it the Roseau River, which means the river of reeds and rushes. A fitting name, as it meanders through common reed (aka cane grass), sedges and rushes that line the riverbanks and fill large lowland areas.

Historically the river has been an important trade route for both indigenous peoples and early Europeans as it connected the Red River Valley and the Dakotas to Lake of the Woods and points east. The route followed the Red River, up to the Roseau, on to Hay Creek, portaging at the sand ridge on present day County Road 12 and dropping into the Warroad River to access Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River.

Historical Perspective
Indigenous people, first the Dakota (or Sioux), and later the Ojibwe (or Chippewa) established settlements throughout the Roseau River Valley. Both tribes used the Red and Roseau

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Rivers as important transportation and trade routes to the wild rice fields around Lake of the Woods. By the mid-1600s the Roseau River Valley would become disputed territory between the two tribes. A particularly fierce war in the mid-1700s led to the valley's moniker as the “war-road” from which the present-day City of Warroad derives as name. Ultimately, the Ojibwe pushed the Dakota out and established small villages throughout the Roseau River Valley including settlements at present day Ross and Wannaska, as well as along Hay Creek. French explorers would arrive in the Roseau River Valley as early as 1734, later French traders would establish trading posts with the native tribes.

By the mid-1800s the US Government had moved the Ojibwe nations to reservation lands near Lake of the Woods, Red Lake, Leech Lake and White Earth, among others, to open the west to homesteaders. Most Ojibwe tribal members gave up their homesteads in the Roseau River Valley, though a few remained to live alongside the new European neighbors.

European Homesteaders
In the late 1800s, as a result of the Homestead Act of 1862, the first European settlers arrived

Marker detail: Dredging, Roseau River, 1906 image. Click for full size.

Roseau County Historical Society, 1906

2. Marker detail: Dredging, Roseau River, 1906

Dredging established a river channel and helped drain surrounding wetlands. The last dredge occurred in the 1930s.

in the Roseau River Valley in search of farmland and timber. However, the Roseau River Valley proved to be difficult for agriculture due to its frequent flooding and extensive wetlands. In response, government leaders promoted efforts to dredge, drain and channelize the Roseau River Valley to create more arable land. The result being a river valley that is dramatically altered from the City of Roseau north and west all the way to the Canadian border. The shoreline remnant of Roseau Lake is still visible on aerial photos today. The last dredging in the valley occurred in the 1930s.

This new agricultural expansion ultimately led to the establishment of the village of Roseau. Dams and mills in Roseau provided power for sawing lumber and milling flour. As more people began to settle in the Roseau River Valley area, Roseau grew, and the community was ultimately incorporated as the Roseau County Seat in 1895.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels.

Location. 48° 50.766′ N, 95° 45.634′ W.

Marker detail: Winter at the Jacklin Flour and Saw Mill in Roseau, 1905 image. Click for full size.

Pennington County Historical Society, 1905

3. Marker detail: Winter at the Jacklin Flour and Saw Mill in Roseau, 1905

Marker is in Roseau, Minnesota, in Roseau County. It is on Center Street East (County Highway 72) just east of 2nd Avenue Southeast, on the right when traveling east. The marker is located beside the Roseau River recreational trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Roseau MN 56751, 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,

on the prairies,

on the Great Plains,

and specifically on the Northern Plains.

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 one other marker is within walking distance of this marker: The Heritage of this Place (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line).

Marker detail: Men netting fish below the dam in Roseau, 1905 image. Click for full size.

Pennington County Historical Society, 1905

4. Marker detail: Men netting fish below the dam in Roseau, 1905

Marker detail: Construction of Mill dam on the Roseau River, 1880 image. Click for full size.

Roseau County Historical Society, 1880

5. Marker detail: Construction of Mill dam on the Roseau River, 1880

Marker detail: Modern Woodworkers of America Picnic, July 1898 image. Click for full size.

Roseau County Historical Society, July 1898

6. Marker detail: Modern Woodworkers of America Picnic, July 1898

The “Modern Woodworkers of America” picnic at the Holm residence on the Roseau River. Mike Holm was Minnesota Secretary of State (1921-1952) and is standing on the riverbank with his tuba.

Marker detail: Chief Cobenas and family image. Click for full size.

Roseau County Historical Society, 1887

7. Marker detail: Chief Cobenas and family

Chief Cobenas (center with a feathered headdress) with two of his wives, Billy McGillis and a young girl. McGillis' wife is in the bonnet. Nineteen local Indians, including men, women, children and babies posed for this photograph. Ross Indian Village, 1887.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 19, 2024

8. Roseau River Water Trail Marker

Looking south from Center Street East. The Roseau River Water Trail is on the right. The Roseau River is just beyond the left/east edge of this photo.

Credits. This page was last revised on March 1, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 1, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 203 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. submitted on March 1, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.