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The Watonwan River

Haycraft, Julius E.
Written by a lifelong resident of the region, this brief history of the Watonwan River, one of the major tributaries of the Minnesota, includes anecdotes about ferry and mill activities along the river, descriptions of two early river towns, selected historical events, and depictions of well known residents. The river itself is described only briefly.
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Watershed(s): 
Watonwan
Keywords: 
Watonwan River
Ferry and Mill Activity
Historical Events
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Minnesota as Seen by Travelers: Up the Minnesota Valley to Fort Ridgely in 1853

Babcock, Willoughby M.
This piece presents a report, originally published in the May 7, 1853 issues of the Minnesotian and most likely written by its editor John P. Owens, of a trip by steamer up the Minnesota River to Fort Ridgely. Observations include the serpentine character of the river and numerous snags encountered the presence of farms and newly formed towns along the route, and the nature of the land at the confluence with the Cottonwood River. The author of the report was impressed by the agricultural and mineral resources of the valley, commenting on farming lands, timber, water, and stone.
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Keywords: 
John P. Owens
Fort Ridgely
Agricultural and Mineral Resources
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Minnesota and its Resources

Bond , J. Wesley
This work recounts the early history of Minnesota and celebrates its virtues which attracted new settlers to the territory. It includes a chapter on the "Minnesota River Country," in which the author describes, in glowing terms, the region's landscape, soil fertility, timber resources, and water. Bond doubts "whether any portion of the west presents greater inducements for immigration that the charming valley of the Minnesota river." To make his case, he presents excerpts from reports by early explorers, including Carver, Featherstonhaugh, and Nicollet.
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Keywords: 
Minnesota River Country
Minnesota River Resources
Explorers
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Thoreau in Minnesota

Flanagan, John T.
Reporting on Henry David Thoreau's 1861 trip to Minnesota a year before his death, this article includes Thoreau's comments on a journey up the Minnesota River to the Lower Sioux Agency. He remarked on the winding nature of the rivers, its fertile valley, various bird and animal life, and navigation methods of the large steamboat on which he was traveling. Thoreau's observations also included the Indians at the agency; he particularly noted their apparent dissatisfaction with the white man's treatment of them.
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Keywords: 
Henry David Thoreau
Lower Sioux Agency
Minnesota River Observations
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Thoreau and Mann on the Minnesota River, June 1861

Harding, Walter
This article presents Horace Mann Jr.'s description of the 1861 trip he took with Henry David Thoreau's journey to Minnesota from May to July of 1861, the "last journey" before his death. His travels included a voyage up and down the Minnesota River from Fort Snelling to the Lower Sioux Agency. The accounts include descriptions of Fort Snelling, the river and its valley, trees and flowers, birds and snakes, wild rice, steamboat navigation, and the Indians at the agency.
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Keywords: 
Henry David Thoreau
Horace Mann Jr.
Lower Sioux Agency
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The First and Last Journeys of Thoreau: Lately Discovered Among His Unpublished Journals and Manuscripts

Sanborn, Franklin Benjamin
This second of two volumes deals with Henry Thoreau's journey to Minnesota from May to July of 1861, the "last journey" before his death. His His travels included a voyage up and down the Minnesota River from Fort Snelling to the Lower Sioux Agency. The accounts include descriptions of Fort Snelling, the river and its valley, trees and flowers, birds and snakes, wild rice, steamboat navigation, and the Indians at the agency.
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Keywords: 
Henry David Thoreau
Fort Snelling
Lower Sioux Agency
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Voyage Down the Minnesota

Krohn, Tim
This series of articles and photographs chronicles an eleven-day canoe trip taken by two newspaper reporters down the Minnesota River in the summer of 1998. The authors comment on river conditions and the character of the surrounding lands from the headwaters at Big Stone Lake to the confluence with the Mississippi River in the Twin Cities. Companion stories provide historical information and highlight various citizen efforts to protect the river.
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Keywords: 
Canoe
Big Stone Lake
Mississippi River
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Blue Earth River Water Quality Segment Plan

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency- Division of Water Quality
This management plan, one of a series of river-segment plans prepared to fulfill the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, was intended to develop an implantation strategy for improving water quality in the Blue Earth River subbasin o f the Minnesota River. The plan includes a description of the area (location and boundaries, water-quality classification), point-source discharges (municipal, industrial, and livestock feedlot), and an abatement schedule for noncompliant dischargers. A river-segment map is appended.
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Keywords: 
Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972
Point-Source Discharges
Water Quality
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Le Sueur River Water Quality Segment Plan

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency- Division of Water Quality
Part of a series of segment plans prepared to satisfy the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, this plan was intended to develop an implementation strategy for water-quality improvement in the Le Sueur River, a subbasin of the Minnesota River. The plan includes a description of the area (location, classification), point dischargers (municipal, industrial, and livestock feedlot), and an abatement schedule for noncompliant dischargers. A river-segment map is appended.
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Keywords: 
Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972
Water Quality Improvements
Oint Dischargers
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History of the Minnesota Valley: Including the Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota and History of the Sioux Massacre

Neill, Rve. Edward D.
This extensive volume on the history of the Minnesota Valley includes sections by Edward Neill on the early explorers of Minnesota (Nicollet, Menard, Marquette, and Perrot, among others); the founding of the state; and the early history of the valley, including explorations of the Minnesota River, interactions among explorers, traders and local Indians, and steamboat navigation. In a section on the geological makeup of the Minnesota Valley, N.H. Winchell briefly summarizes the results of two earlier surveys, conducted in 1848 and 1865, of the distribution of various geologic types.
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Keywords: 
Minnesota Valley History
Sioux Massacre
Valley County History
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