Lake Okabena | |
---|---|
![]() Sailboarding on Lake Okabena | |
![]() Topographic Map of Lake Okabena | |
Location | Nobles County, Minnesota |
Coordinates | 43°37′00″N95°37′00″W / 43.61667°N 95.61667°W Coordinates: 43°37′00″N95°37′00″W / 43.61667°N 95.61667°W |
Lake type | Glacial lake |
Max. length | 1.25 miles (2.01 km) |
Max. width | 1 mile (1.6 km) |
Surface area | 776 acres (314 ha) |
Average depth | 6.9 ft (2.1 m) |
Max. depth | 15.3 ft (4.7 m) [1] |
Water volume | 224,464,680 cu ft (6,356,132 m3) [2] |
Shore length1 | 5.5 miles (8.9 km) |
Surface elevation | 478.5 m (1,570 ft) |
Settlements | Worthington, MN |
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. |
Lake Okabena is a small lake located in Nobles County in southwestern Minnesota. It was first noted on a map made by French explorer Joseph Nicollet in 1841, based upon his explorations of the 1830s. The name okabena means "home of the heron" in the Sioux language. Lake Okabena is located entirely within the present-day city limits of Worthington, Minnesota.
Though Nicollet's map shows only one Lake Okabena, the earliest survey map of the area made in 1868 shows two lakes - East Okabena (no longer in existence) and West Okabena.
When the St Paul & Sioux City Railroad (now the Union Pacific) was built through the region in 1871, tracks were laid between the two lakes. A station house was built along the southeastern shore of West Lake Okabena and was named the Okabena Railroad Station. [3] Steam engines of the day consumed enormous quantities of water, and water stops were required every 8 to 12 miles along any route. The Okabena Railway Station was one of these, drawing water directly out of West Okabena.
In 1872, a large influx of settlers arrived in the region and a town was built. The town and the railroad station were christened Worthington, after the mother-in-law of A. P. Miller, one of the town's founding fathers, and it was located between West Okabena and East Okabena.
When the Burlington Railroad (later the Rock Island Railroad) built a line connecting Round Lake, Worthington, and Wilmont in 1889-1890, it was built across the dried lake bed of East Okabena. It is thought that the lake had been drained to make way for this railroad. The lake was thoroughly described in an 1882 geology report on the state of Minnesota [4] and is clearly visible on an 1884 county map, yet by the time the Burlington Railroad was built, the lake was gone. A 1914 plat map of Worthington refers to an area as "formerly East Okabena lake", "Now dry, having been drained". An 1899 Worthington Advance newspaper article details who was given the job of draining the lake (see photo), but no one knows who ordered the deed to be done. One photograph exists of men digging the trench which drained the waters of East Okabena away forever. [5]
A second ditch with the curious name of Whiskey Ditch drains water into Lake Okabena. During the late 1800s there was a drought, and the level of Lake Okabena was very low. People saw spring runoff and precious summer rain running north to Heron Lake through Okabena Creek, and they wanted this runoff to instead flow into Lake Okabena. The project consisted of many men digging through a large hill where present County Hwy 35 crosses the present ditch. The odd name for this ditch was given because of the way it was financed. The funding for project was provided by a "whiskey tax" charged within the town of Worthington. [6]
The Burlington/Rock Island Railroad greatly changed the complexion and character of the eastern shore of the remaining Lake Okabena. Once a gently sloping shoreline with beach, boathouses, and picnic pavilions, the region came to resemble an industrial area. A large coal powered electrical generation plant was built. This plant hummed night and day, vibrating the ground of the surrounding neighborhood as it generated electrical power and steam heat for the city of Worthington.
The Rock Island Railroad ceased operating in the region in the 1980s and its rail lines were torn up. The power plant also ceased operating and was demolished in the 1990s. The region has since been reclaimed as a city park named Sailboard Beach. It is presently the site of a yearly sailboard racing competition and music festival. [7]
Nobles County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 22,290. Its county seat is Worthington.
Jackson County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 9,989. Its county seat is Jackson.
Okabena is a town in Jackson County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 188 at the 2010 census. The community's name is a Dakota term meaning "the nesting place of herons."
Graham Lakes Township is a township in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 251 at the 2000 census.
Worthington Township is a township in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 316 at the 2000 census.
Worthington is a city in and the county seat of Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,947 at the 2020 census.
The Red River is a river in the north-central United States and central Canada. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota, it flows northward through the Red River Valley, forming most of the border of Minnesota and North Dakota and continuing into Manitoba. It empties into Lake Winnipeg, whose waters join the Nelson River and ultimately flow into Hudson Bay.
The Des Moines River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwestern United States that is approximately 525 miles (845 km) long from its farther headwaters. The largest river flowing across the state of Iowa, it rises in southern Minnesota and flows across Iowa from northwest to southeast, passing from the glaciated plains into the unglaciated hills near the capital city of Des Moines, named after the river, in the center of the state. The river continues to flow at a southeastern direction away from Des Moines, later flowing directly into the Mississippi River.
Watershed districts are special government entities in the U.S. state of Minnesota that monitor and regulate the use of water in watersheds surrounding various lakes and rivers in the state. The districts cover the natural regions of the watersheds, rather than politically defined regions and thus may have boundaries that cross jurisdictions. They are run by a board of managers, who are appointed by commissions in the counties within the districts.
Lake Pepin is a naturally occurring lake on the Mississippi River on the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is located in a valley carved by the outflow of an enormous glacial lake at the end of the last Ice Age. The lake formed when the Mississippi, a successor to the glacial river, was partially dammed by a delta from a tributary stream and spread out across the ancient valley.
Lake Shetek is the largest lake in southwestern Minnesota, United States, and the headwaters of the Des Moines River. It is located in The Lakes, an unincorporated community in Murray County a few miles north-northwest of Currie. The name Shetek is derived from "pelican" in the Ojibwe language.
Nicollet Island/East Bank is a neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota, situated just across the Mississippi River from Downtown, one of six in the University community. It comprises Nicollet Island and the portion of the eastern riverbank located between Central Avenue and the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad line. The "East Bank" portion of the neighborhood is commonly referred to as a part of Northeast or Old St. Anthony, as this area was the location of the town of St. Anthony, which was annexed by Minneapolis in 1872.
Rice Creek is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the northern suburbs of the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota in the United States. It is approximately 28 miles (45 km) long and drains a watershed of 201 square miles (520 km2).
The Minnesota Southern Railway was a shortline railroad in the states of Minnesota and South Dakota in the United States.
Okabena Creek is a 40-mile-long (64 km) waterway in southern Minnesota. It is a tributary, via the short Diversion Creek, of Heron Lake, the outlet of which flows to the Des Moines River. Okabena Creek begins in Worthington, Minnesota, connecting by a ditch to the outlet of Okabena Lake, then flows northeast past the towns of Brewster and Okabena to the Heron Lake/South Heron Lake system.
Org is an unincorporated community in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States.
Reading is an unincorporated community in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States.
The Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway (BCR&N) was a railroad that operated in the United States from 1876 to 1903. It was formed to take over the operations of the bankrupt Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railway, which was, in turn, the result of merging several predecessor lines, the construction of which began in 1869. The corporate headquarters were in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it had operations in Iowa and in Minnesota. It was succeeded by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway.
The Graham Lakes are a pair of lakes located in the northeastern corner of Nobles County, Minnesota. The lakes are known as West Graham Lake and East Graham Lake. West Graham Lake is an oval shaped body of water that extends east-to-west slightly more than one mile (1.6 km). The north-to-south width of the lake is approximately 3/4 of a mile. The area of West Graham Lake is 519.28 acres (2.1015 km2), the average depth is 5 feet (1.5 m), and the maximum depth is 8 feet (2.4 m). The elevation of West Graham Lake is 1,438.7 feet (438.5 m), or 438.52 meters. East Graham Lake is a longer, narrower lake that extends from northeast-to-southwest for 11⁄2 miles. Its width is less than 1/2 mile. The area of East Graham Lake is 511.32 acres (2.0692 km2), the average depth is 5 feet (1.5 m), and the maximum depth is 8 feet (2.4 m). The elevation of East Graham Lake is 1,435.08 feet (437.41 m), or 437.41 meters. A small creek runs from West Graham Lake and empties into East Graham Lake. Another creek runs from East Graham Lake, and eventually flows into the Des Moines River.
Hartsdale was a town in St. John Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. It was part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Hartsdale was annexed by Schererville, Indiana, in 1911.