The Meeting Place

The Meeting Place. . , Crow Wing State Park is located at the confluence of the Crow Wing and Mississippi Rivers. Here, where these two ancient transportation routes came together, people, too, came together. The area, with its varied landscape, was well known as prime hunting territory to both the Dakota and Ojibwe people. There are historical records of people from these two nations meeting at these hunting grounds both in peace and in conflict., It was here, in 1768, that a major battle was waged between bands of Ojibwe and Dakota, establishing Ojibwe control over the region. Recognizing its strategic location, fur traders began frequenting the confluence as early as the mid-1700s. In the 1820s a permanent trading post was established here, and over the next two decades prominent traders including Alan Morrison, William Aitkin, John Fairbanks, Benjamin Baker and Clement Beaulieu operated trading stations, resulting in the formation of a settlement known as Crow Wing., After the decline of the fur trade, the town served as a commerce center for the logging industry and as a primary stop on the famed Red River Oxcart Trail. It was the home of the influential Ojibwe leader Hole-In-The-Day II, and the community served as an important meeting place for native and immigrant people alike. Crow Wing was unique in its ethnic make-up. It was known to be home to people from across North America and beyond, and half of its population was Ojibwe. The demise of the community came after the Mississippi bands of the Ojibwe nation were moved to the White Earth Reservation in 1868, and after the Northern Pacific Railroad chose its Mississippi River crossing where Brainerd is today, rather than here at Crow Wing. Crow Wing State Park was established out of local concern to preserve the history of the Mississippi/Crow Wing confluence and the village of Crow Wing. The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.,

What's in a Name?, Historic Crow Wing and its residents have their mark on Minnesota's history. Not only is this county named after the river and the old settlement, but names of the town's prominent citizens and frequent guests appear all over the Minnesota map. Minnesota has counties named Rice, Morrison and Aitkin, as well as towns called Beaulieu and Warren. There is a Hole-In-The-Day Lake north of Brainerd, and the Nokasippi River is named in honor of the legendary Ojibwe hunter No-Ka., Photograph of Hole-In-The-Day courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society