Chengwatana, Minnesota

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Chengwatana
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Chengwatana
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Chengwatana
Coordinates: 45°50′19″N92°56′15″W / 45.83861°N 92.93750°W / 45.83861; -92.93750
Country United States
State Minnesota
County Pine
Time zone UTC-6 (Central (CST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code 320
GNIS feature ID649445 [1]

Chengwatana is an abandoned village site in Pine County, Minnesota, United States.

Contents

The former village was located immediately east of Pine City. The center of the village was generally considered near the present day intersection of Cross Lake Road (Pine County 9) and Government Road.

History

Chengwatana was an Ojibwa village, located along the lower course of the Snake River, Minnesota. Its name in Ojibwe was Zhingwaadena, a contraction of Zhingwaak-oodena or "White-Pine Town"; English uses the French transcription of the Ojibwe. After statehood of Wisconsin in 1848, the transient village became a permanent village located at the outlet of Cross Lake, on its south eastern shore, at the beginning of the lower course of the Snake River, named Snake River Dam. Elam Greeley, a lumberman, co-founder of Stillwater, and member of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature whom Greeley [2] is named after, owned the Chengwatana toll dam at the outlet of Cross Lake.

Elam Greeley ElamGreeley1852.jpg
Elam Greeley

On March 1, 1856, with very informal ceremony, the village was officially named as the County Seat of Pine County and the village was renamed Alhambra by Judd, Walker and Company and Daniel G. Robertson; however, this name was not very well accepted. In 1857, Alhambra was renamed as Chengwatana. When the Point Douglas to Superior Military Road, also known as "Douglas Highway," was constructed between the modern cities of Hastings, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin to replace the Kettle River Trail that connected the modern cities of Fridley, Minnesota with Moose Lake, Minnesota, the new road was designed to pass through Chengwatana. The village was garrisoned as a frontier military post, 1862-1863. A post office operated in the village until 1873.

When the railroad was constructed on the western shore of Cross Lake, a new village, Pine City, was platted — Pine City's name being a loose English translation of Chengwatana. In addition, Chengwatana and Pine City Townships were also named after the village of Chengwatana. With the railroad, Chengwatana declined into a ghost town. The county seat was transferred to Pine City in 1870.

A historical marker was placed at the former village site, simply stating its location, while a detailed historical marker noting Chengwatana and its relationship to the city of Pine City was placed along the railroad bridge crossing the Snake River in Pine City.

Related Research Articles

Chengwatana Township is a township in Pine County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 809 at the 2000 census. Chengwatana Township was organized in 1874. Its name is derived from the Ojibwe Zhingwaadena, applied originally to an Ojibwe village located at the confluence of the Snake River with the St. Croix River. Neighbouring Pine City Township and the City of Pine City get their names from the English translation of Chengwatana.

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The Poplar River is a river in northeastern Minnesota that drains into Lake Superior.

The Chengwatana State Forest is a state forest located in Pine and Chisago counties in Minnesota. Its name is derived from the Ojibwe: Zhingwaadena, meaning white-pine town, after the nearby ghost town and township. Eastern White Pine was historically the dominant tree species in the surrounding forest prior to intensive logging at the end of the nineteenth century.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gooseberry River</span> River in Minnesota, United States

Gooseberry River is a 23-mile stream in Lake County, Minnesota, USA, draining into Lake Superior. It is known for its waterfalls, near its mouth in Gooseberry Falls State Park. The Gooseberry, like many of its neighboring streams, has an irregular discharge highly dependent on runoff from rain and snow melt. The region around the river was heavily forested and much logging took place during the early 20th century. The forest has since regrown and the falls and mouth of the river are now a thriving tourist destination.

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References

  1. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  2. Greeley, Elam, Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, Accessed December 5, 2010.

Further reading