Exit78 Photo of the Day1 #19
Minnesota’s Father Hennepin State Park is a nice gem of a park for camping. We stopped there for two nights in September, 2013, while exploring on our way to Wisconsin for a family visit.
Dock, Mille Lacs Lake, Father Hennepin State Park, Minnesota, September 9, 2013 (Pentax K10-r)
Father Hennepin State Park2
Named after Father Louis Hennepin, a priest who visited the area with a French expedition in 1680, the 320-acre (130 ha) Father Hennepin State Park has 103 campsites and a sandy beach over one mile (1.6 km) long.
Father Louis Hennepin, a Franciscan priest of the Recollet order, was dispatched to explore western New France in 1680. Hennepin is not thought to have been in the exact location of the park, but the park is named after him because he was the first to write extensively about the Mille Lacs area. He called the area Louisiana in honor of King Louis XIV of France. In the spring of 1680 he and two companions encountered a group of Dakota Native Americans and were captured, about 15 miles (24 km) from today’s Father Hennepin State Park. Their release was negotiated eight months later by Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut. Throughout the experience, Father Hennepin kept a journal describing the lakes, rivers, landscapes, and the lifestyle of his hosts, the Mdewakanton Dakota. In 1683 his writings were published in the book Description de la Louisiane.
Local advocates and Catholic groups were instrumental in getting the park established in the years before World War II.
- Each photo in this series is an “original work” – a copyright term – of Michael Goad.
- Father Hennepin State Park – Wikipedia
