Itasca State Park Centennial

Itasca State Park Centennial. The name "Itasca" was coined specifically from the Latin words "Veritas caput" -- literally meaning "true head" -- by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft in 1832. Led by Ozawindib, an Ojibwe guide who knew the upper reaches of the Mississippi River and its headwaters lakes. Schoolcraft was able to document the true source of America's greatest river, a feat that had eluded many previous explorers, including Zebulon Pike, Lewis Cass, and Giacomo Beltrami. , , More than a half century passed before surveyor Jacob V. Brower, known today as the "father of Itasca," began his efforts to establish the area as a state park. At a time when most of Minnesota was not yet homesteaded and logging was the state's major industry, Brower struggled against tremendous odds and opposition to preserve this special place for future generations. Finally, in 1891, the legislature passed by one vote an act establishing 20,000 acres around Lake Itasca as Minnesota's first state park. Brower was named the first park commissioner, a position from which he staunchly fought poachers, politicians, and lumbermen. While he only partially succeeded in stopping logging before his death in 1905, he predicted that Itasca "will become easily accessible and of great value as a public resort," a remarkably accurate vision. , , On the centennial of this park, 32,000 acres are now protected and enjoyed by over a half million visitors each year. Efforts are underway to begin a major pine restoration program to ensure the existence of giant pines and a diverse northwoods ecosystem for the next century and beyond.