This is the site of the famous
"Spirit Lake Massacre,"
a violent conflict in March 1857 that led to the deaths of 36 settlers. Survivor Abbie Gardner (thirteen years old at the time of the massacre) returned to Arnolds Park and purchased the . . . — — Map (db m233751) HM
American Indians called the Lakes Region home for thousands of years. They were enticed to the lakes for many reasons: the tallgrass prairie provided ample grazing for an abundance of buffalo and elk; the lakes were a flyway for flocks of . . . — — Map (db m142095) HM
Fourteen thousand years ago the spot on which you are standing was covered under a mile-high ice sheet. The fourth Wisconsin glacier carved the cluster of lakes into Northwest Iowa. While this north-south cut is typical of glacial lakes, West . . . — — Map (db m142094) HM
In 1889, a water toboggan slide near this pier was the beginning of the Arnolds Park Amusement Park. Toboggans and wool swim suits could be rented by the day.
Over the next century, the area, named after pioneer developer Wesley Arnold, . . . — — Map (db m142092) HM
The pioneer settlers named below were massacred by Sioux Indians March 8 to 13 1857. This barbarous work was commenced near this spot and continued to Springfield now Jackson Minn.
Robert Clark ·
Rowland Gardner ·
Frances . . . — — Map (db m245504) HM
The Lakes Region was settled in the 1850's. By 1884, small towns had developed and two railroads: The Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern; and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Pal laid tracks into the area. As hotels were built around the lakes, . . . — — Map (db m142093) HM
