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

Mississippi Crossings

Grand Rapids to Little Falls

— Great River Road Minnesota —

Mississippi Crossings Marker obverse image. Click for full size.

Photographed by McGhiever, June 28, 2025

1. Mississippi Crossings Marker obverse

Inscription.
For centuries, people have traveled this region by river, rail and road. Today it plays host to thousands of vacationers who bike, golf, fish, watch birds or seek respite. Come to play and explore the historical routes inspired by the river. Grand Rapids, Aitkin, the towns of the Cuyuna Range, Brainerd and Little Falls will be your hosts.

Look for Minnesota's state bird, the Common Loon, on the lakes and ponds of Crow Wing County. These birds are known for their eerie, loud, yodeling call, which they use to signify their territory.

Common Loon (Gavia immer)

The osprey is about two feet long, with a wingspan of up to six feet. As with many raptors, females are somewhat larger than males. The bottoms of the osprey's feet have barbs, called spicules, that help it hold wiggling, slippery fish. Ospreys breed on all continents except South America and Antarctica.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

The Crow Wing River is named because of the sandbar that sits at the river's mouth, which the Dakota believed looked like a crow's wing.

Where the Fur Flew
Once a strategic point in territorial contests between the Ojibwe

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and Dakota, the village of Crow Wing became the site of an American Fur Company trading post in 1823. In those days, it was an important stop on the Red River Trail, a network of rough roads that brought furs from Canada, the Dakotas and western Minnesota to the steamboat landings of St. Paul to be shipped downstream.

The Brainerd lakes area is a diverse patchwork of oak savanna and prairie habitats. It is home to a variety of native and adaptive plant life, such as oaks (Quercus species) and daisies (Rudbeckia and Heliopsis species). Not only is the landscape beautiful, its vegetation is hardworking, providing nectar for bees and seed for birds, while naturally controlling erosion and enriching the soil.

Common Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

View of Crow Wing Village 1863
Minnesota Historical Society Photograph

Herons in the Sky and Roosting
Watch for these large, gray-blue herons around the lakes, marshes, swamps and rivers of Crow Wing County. You can also see them flying through the sky, with their long legs trailing behind them. Herons are solitary hunters, able to stand extremely still for long periods of time in shallow

Mississippi Crossings Marker reverse image. Click for full size.

Photographed by McGhiever, June 28, 2025

2. Mississippi Crossings Marker reverse

water, waiting to spear unsuspecting fish with their long, sharp beaks. Great Blue Herons nest in large colonies of sometimes more than 100 birds. They migrate to South America for the winter.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Resorts for Rifle and Rod
Outdoor enthusiasts from around the region ventured to Minnesota to try their luck in our lakes, fields and woods. These people needed places to stay and food to eat. At first, local residents provided casual accommodations as the need arose, renting a patch of ground on their property for visiting sportsmen to pitch a tent or charging for a home-cooked meal. As business picked up, some began building cabins complete with docks, boat rentals and icehouses to store the catch. Minnesota's resort industry was born.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Industry & Commerce • Roads & Vehicles • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Minnesota Great River Road series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1823.

Location. 46° 15.636′ N, 94° 19.183′ W. Marker is in Crow

Mississippi Crossings Marker at the Brainerd Lakes Welcome Center image. Click for full size.

Photographed by McGhiever, June 28, 2025

3. Mississippi Crossings Marker at the Brainerd Lakes Welcome Center

Wing, Minnesota, in Crow Wing County. It can be reached from the intersection of N. Koering Road and Minnesota Highway 371. The marker is at the Explore Brainerd Lakes Welcome Center and Rest Area. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 7053 N Koering Road, Brainerd MN 56401, 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 Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Entrepreneurs and Upstarts (a few steps from this marker); Hunting Hospitality (a few steps from this marker); Lakes on the Plains (a few steps from this marker); Roughnecks and River Pigs (within shouting distance of this marker); Ojibwe Origins (within shouting distance of this marker); Land in

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the Middle (within shouting distance of this marker); Lumberjack Legend (within shouting distance of this marker); Paul Bunyan Statue (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Crow Wing.

Credits. This page was last revised on March 1, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 29, 2025, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This page has been viewed 126 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 29, 2025, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota.