JEAN Baptiste Faribault House at Mendota

PRESERVING and INTERPRETING Minnesota's HISTORIC SITES

RUSSELL W. FRIDLEY

AN ORGANIZED MOVEMENT to pre­ state is changing. Modernization of cities serve Minnesota's major historic sites has and towns, population expansion into sub­ gained considerable mornentum in recent urbs and rural areas, industrial growth, mili­ years. While a relatively small number of tary installations, and huge state and federal people are involved in this effort, and their highway programs are exerting tremendous work seldom receives public attention, they pressure on once neglected or scarcely no­ are pervaded by a sense of the deepest ur­ ticed historic sites. If steps are not rapidly gency. They are aware that a period of crisis taken to preserve these places where Min­ is at hand in the struggle to save the signifi­ nesota history was made, they will soon be cant physical remnants of our past. More lost forever. than is generally realized, the face of our Though few in number and armed with all too meager resources, those engaged in MR. FRmLEY, who is the director of the society, has based this article on talks given before the the battle to conserve Minnesota's historic Great Lakes Conference on Historic Sites, held spots are united by a keen awareness of the at Mackinac Island State Park, and the National values at stake. Our society is changing Conference on State Parks, in Pacific Grove, more rapidly than ever before and our California, on August 7 and September 21,1959. bonds with the past are each day becoming

58 MINNESOTA History more tenuous. It is thus a vital task to pre­ War of 1882. In part, this was accomphshed serve for future generations these unique by direct action — the placing of the so­ and tangible ghmpses of their heritage. The ciety's O'wn markers and tablets on various question faces us squarely whether our gen­ historic spots, A vastly more important con­ eration will act to protect the landmarks of tribution was the arousing of deep public the past or will let them crumble before interest in Sioux War sites. This resulted in the bulldozer of modern improvement. Pos­ legislative action which continued for many terity will judge our sense of values and years after the demise of the Minnesota appreciation of a common heritage by our Valley Historical Society, and it achieved response to this question. a rare thoroughness in preserving areas asso­ While the problem of preservation is ciated with the bloody events of 1862, heightened by recent economic and social The establishment of state memorial developments that are nationwide in effect, parks on the sites of two of the major Sioux it is not new in Minnesota. For almost a War battlegrounds — Birch Coulee near century attempts have been made to sal­ Morton in 1893 and Fort Ridgely near Fair­ vage the state's more important historic fax in 1911 — was the most valuable legis­ locations. In view of the immediate chal­ lative contribution of this period. In about lenge, it is interesting to review these ef­ the same era, funds were provided for his­ forts. In 1864 ofiBcers of the Minnesota torical monuments within the state's infant Historical Society asked the eminent local park system at Camp Release near Monte­ historian, Edward D, Neill, to write a paper video in 1889, the site of the Lake Shetek on Fort Snelhng. Neill responded with MONUMENT On the site of Camp Release what seems to have been the first study of the post as a historic site. "For nearly 50 years," he wrote, "Fort Snelling has been well known for the beauty and prominence of its situation." He feared, however, that "under the advancing and resistless pres­ sure of modern civilization, it may be that within a generation, not one stone will be left on another." ' While Neill's prediction was unduly pessimistic, he displayed a keen understanding of the forces contributing to the rapid disappearance of many an im­ portant historical landmark. Moreover, his sense of the significance of the spot fore­ shadowed a concern of later generations that Fort Snelhng should somehow be saved — a possibility not yet fully realized. The most extensive and successful pres­ ervation work yet done in Minnesota was conducted by the now defunct Minnesota Valley Historical Society between 1885 and 1915. As a result of this organization's ef­ forts, permanent monuments were erected on a host of sites associated 'with the Sioux

^Edward D. Neill, "Occurrences in and around Fort Snelling from 1819 to 1840," in Minnesota " Historical CoUections, 2:102 (1860-67). •iJ^Mik.i

June 1960 59 massacre in 1905, Wood Lake battleground the only major locations associated with the near Granite Falls in 1907, and the site of Sioux War which have not been saved. The the Acton murders near Grove City in 1909. remarkable program of the Minnesota Valley Another historic site set aside during these Historical Society and the state legislature years of early activity was the treaty ground not only protected a host of significant spots, of 1851 at Traverse des Sioux near St. Peter, but the impressive parks and monuments it This was located and acquired by the state created gave southwestern Minnesota a dis­ in 1905. tinctive historical atmosphere that sets it off Later legislatures created state parks on from other sections of the state. the site of the Lac qui Parle mission in 1931, Another important project of the late nine­ and in the areas surrounding monuments at teenth century was led by J. V. Brower on Lake Shetek and Monson Lake in 1937, Also behaff of the Minnesota Historical Society; in the latter year, three acres near Sacred it resulted in saving the extensive and un­ Heart, including the ruins of the Joseph R. usual wilderness area around Lake Itasca, Brown house, were presented to the state, the source of the Mississippi River. Through and money was appropriated for the site's the work of Brower and others, Itasca be­ maintenance and improvement as a state came Minnesota's first state park in 1891. memorial park. Thus the marking of the site of Camp Re­ There is a distinction between the marking lease and the setting aside of the area about of a site and its preservation, though in most Lake Itasca laid the foundations of the Min­ cases the former leads directly to the latter. nesota state park system. Some monuments — as, for instance, those The only complete community in the state erected to the Schwandt family in 1915 and to be preserved is old Mendota, which has to the victims of the Milford massacre in been saved by the Minnesota Daughters of 1929 — commemorate an event but do not the American Revolution, This early settle­ mark the site upon which it occurred. The ment— once the Minnesota headquarters Lower Sioux Agency near Morton is a glar­ of the American Fur Company — consists of ing example of a site which has been marked several structures, including the homes of but not adequately preserved. This and the Henry H, Sibley, Jean Baptiste Faribault, Upper Sioux Agency near Granite Falls are and Hypolite DuPuis. The best known of

RUINS of the Joseph R. Brown house, overlooking the Minnesota Valley MARKER at Traverse des Sioux erected in 1913 by the DAR

these is the Sibley House, which Sibley sold a joint survey completed in 1956 by the Min­ to the local Cathohc parish when he moved nesota Historical Society and the division of with his family to St. Paul in 1862. It was state parks, undertook to specify Minnesota used first as a convent, later as an art school, sites that have national significance. The sec­ and still later as a warehouse. Finally, it fell ond and more extensive survey is attempting into disrepair. In 1910 the structure was, on to locate historic sites throughout the state the recommendation of Archbishop John and to determine which have state-'wide Ireland, presented to the Minnesota DAR. interest. Restored by this organization and opened to From the earlier project emerged a list the public, the house has been since main­ of six landmarks — the Grand Mound at tained with financial aid from the state. The Laurel, the Red Pipestone Quarry in south­ DuPuis House and other structures were western Minnesota, Fort St. Charles on the secured in later years by the DAR, and in Lake of the Woods, Lake Itasca, Grand Por­ 1935 the state acquired and restored the tage on Lake Superior, and Fort Snelling. Faribault House, which was turned over to The Grand Mound at Laurel is situated the DAR in 1937. This timely program of fifteen miles west of International Falls at the action saved one of the state's most signifi­ junction of the Big Fork and Rainy rivers. cant historic places, and today the six-acre The largest of a group of seven mounds, it is tract comprises the only pioneer village in 45 feet high, 90 feet wide, and 110 feet long. Minnesota which has been permanently pre­ In addition to being the largest prehistoric served. burial mound in the upper Mississippi Val­ ley, the Grand Mound is the basic example ASIDE from these exceptionally successful of the so-called Laurel culture, archaeologi­ projects, how good is our record of preserv­ cal remains of which are found throughout ing the spots where Minnesota history has northern Minnesota and across the interna­ been made? To answer this question it is tional border in Ontario and Manitoba. This necessary first to determine what are Minne­ culture, which flourished somewhere be­ sota's major historical places. Two important tween 500 B.C. and 1000 A.D,, was character­ studies have attacked the problem. The first. ized by bone tools and ornaments, the

June 1960 61 extensive use of native copper, and canni­ nificant are associated with the great saga of balistic rites. Fortunately, the Grand Mound, North American exploration and discovery. which is situated in sixty-four acres of virgin Fort St. Charles on the Northwest Angle in deciduous forest, has been perserved in its Lake of the Woods is surrounded by a wil­ original setting by the Fred Smith family, derness that is rich both in history and scen­ owners of the property over several decades. ery. Built in 1732 by a great French explorer, The mound itself is a magnificent example of the Sieur de la Verendrye, it served for more the many burial sites that once dotted the than a decade as his headquarters and the Minnesota landscape by the thousands. With base of operations for ambitious exploring the advent of mechanized farming and the and fur trading enterprises. La Verendrye urbanization of wide sections of the state, and members of his family were in the van­ mounds of this type have largely disap­ guard of those who searched for the North­ peared. west Passage to the Western Sea, and their The Pipestone Quarry in southwestern Minnesota fort was a place of importance Minnesota is the spot where for centuries during the period when the French were North American Indians obtained the red penetrating the interior of North America. stone from which they carved their peace Although less widely known than many of pipes. According to a legend common to both his countrymen. La Verendrye remains the the Omaha and Yankton, an Omaha squaw greatest of the French pathfinders who ex­ named Wehegela discovered the quarry plored the area west of the Great Lakes. His while trailing a white bison whose hoofs un­ fruitless eighteen-year search for a route to covered the red stone, Indians of all tribes China opened a vast new country that today regarded the spot with reverence, for they includes northern Minnesota, Manitoba, beheved that there the Great Spirit had North and South Dakota, and large areas of created man and that the dark red stone was other states and provinces extending west­ the flesh of their ancestors, hardened by the ward to the Rocky Mountains. The site of waters of a great flood. The quarry was Fort St. Charles was definitely located by sacred as well as neutral ground, where In­ Jesuits from St. Boniface in 1908. Extensive dians of all tribes gathered in peace. It was excavation yielded a wealth of artifacts visited in 1836 by George Catlin, a widely which were later lost in a fire. The site is pre­ known painter of the North American In­ served by the Minnesota Knights of Colum­ dians, who reported on it in print and painted bus. the best early picture of the site. Catlin Like the Western Sea, Lake Itasca was an secured samples of the rock, which was elusive goal for explorers of varied nation­ named "catlinite" in his honor. Many other alities. After the discovery of the lower Mis­ travelers followed the trail he blazed. Carved sissippi by DeSoto in 1541, a long hne of on some rocks near the quarry are the still adventurers attempted to trace the great decipherable names of the explorer Joseph river to its source. For three centuries the N. Nicollet and a younger member of his challenge of its origin kindled the imagina­ party, John C. Fremont. In 1937 Congress tions of such potential discoverers as the set aside a hundred and fifteen acres of land British trader and map maker, David centering about the quarry as the Pipestone Thompson; the Italian adventurer, Giacomo National Monument. To this day only In­ Beltrami; and the American explorers, Zebu­ dians are allowed to dig the stone. When lon M. Pike and Lewis Cass. Each beheved freshly quarried it is soft and clayhke, easily that he had reached the beginning of the molded and shaped, but once exposed to the mighty river, but it remained for Henry air it soon hardens to a consistency which Rowe Schoolcraft to discover and name Lake will take a brilliant polish. Itasca as the source of the great waterway in The next two sites listed as nationally sig­ 1832. Today Lake Itasca is the centerpiece

62 MINNESOTA History of Itasca State Park, comprising thirty-three As a result of this study of Minnesota's his­ thousand acres in north-central Minnesota. toric spots of national significance, some Evidence of its appeal is to be found in the valuable recommendations were made. In fact that some six hundred thousand people 1956 Grand Portage was a national historic visit it each year — an annual attendance site, having been so designated in 1951. The greater than that of most national parks. study recommended that Grand Portage be The fifth site chosen for its national sig­ made a national monument, confirming ear­ nificance — Grand Portage — was the great lier efforts in this direction. They finally met inland depot of the North West Company with success in September, 1958, when Con­ and the hub of the North American fur trade gress established as Minnesota's second from 1770 to 1804. Located on the rocky national monument a seven-hundred acre north shore of Lake Superior near the tip of tract, including the areas of the main post. Minnesota's beautiful Arrowhead Country, Fort Charlotte, and the nine-mile portage. it was the gateway to the nine-mile portage No further action was recommended on over which canoes and furs were carried to Pipestone, which has been a national monu­ Fort Charlotte at a point on the Pigeon River ment since 1937 and has been wisely and above the many waterfalls and rapids on that well developed by the National Park Service. stream's lower course. Beyond lay the vast Fort St. Charles was recommended for na­ chain of interconnected lakes and rivers tional monument status, and the Grand leading straight to the heart of the continent. Mound, Fort Snelhng, and Lake Itasca for The Indians knew the route. They showed it designation as national historic sites. to La Verendrye in 1731 and to other French travelers, who called it le grand portage, or THE SECOND and more comprehensive "the great carrying place," When the North survey has been under way for the past four West Company was in control, trading posts years. During this time members of the Min­ were built at each end of the portage, but nesota Historical Society's staff have been that at Fort Charlotte was little more than a investigating historic sites in the field and storehouse. The main post, on the site of an in the hbrary and evaluating the role that ancient Indian village, was on the lake shore; each played in the state's development. it took its name from the nine-mile trail — Embraced by this study have been spots Grand Portage, For more than a quarter of associated with prehistoric man, Indians, a century before 1800 Grand Portage was the exploration, the fur trade, military forts, busiest, liveliest place in the entire North­ treaties, wars, religion, agriculture, and in­ west. dustry. The homes of humble pioneers and The sixth site selected in 1956 was old Fort famous Minnesotans have been included, as Snelhng. The establishment of the sturdy have frontier institutions like the one-room limestone post in 1819 at the junction of the schoolhouse and the indispensable country Minnesota and Mississippi rivers radically store. Although it will take years for many of affected the course of events in the upper the benefits from such a study to materialize, Mississippi Valley. It extended the authority one immediate and tangible result will be of the young American nation over the re­ the pubhcation, perhaps next year, of an gion for the first time, paved the way for illustrated booklet describing some of the white settlement, and set in motion trends area's more interesting historic places. which eventually transformed a vast Indian The detailed findings of this survey are territory into a state. As a mihtary outpost too extensive to present in full, but some on the remote American frontier, Fort Snell­ general observations have been recorded. ing was an island of civilization from which First, we have learned that one event in the stemmed much of the settlement of Minne­ state's history — the Sioux Uprising of 1862 sota and the Northwest. — dominates the scene. There is, in fact.

June 1960 63 almost an overabundance of places that re­ of St. Anthony — is covered by a concrete call this bloody and tragic conflict. apron and surrounded by power dams, The survey shows that virtually all effort sluices, railroad tracks, mills, and factories. in Minnesota has been concentrated upon Similarly in Duluth, industrial growth along the preservation of single, often isolated the waterfront has destroyed all evidences of units — a fort, a house, a mill, a log cabin, the city's birth. Insofar as sites associated or a schoolhouse. Some have been moved with important Minnesota industries are from their original locations to county fair­ concerned, several good pioneer flour mills grounds, courthouse grounds, and other and a number of early iron mines still exist, places; some remain in their original settings. but no significant remains of the lumbering A splendid example of a log cabin still stands era that so deeply influenced the region's on the Ole Bakken homestead near Mcin­ development have survived. tosh, and a fine specimen of an early country In the category of homes, the best job has school is the stone structure at Frankford. been done in preserving those of political One notable exception to this tendency is to leaders, the poorest in keeping those of cul­ be found in old Mendota, where one of the tural leaders. We have set aside and restored earliest communities in the state is pre­ one home that is only a little over fifty years served. It constitutes Minnesota's most ex­ old: the Charles A. Lindbergh House at tensive historic site. Another appealing and Little Falls. This indicates a commendable unique pre-Civil War village, and one which awareness that history is not confined to the holds rare possibilities for restoration as an state's early years — that it has been made example of an early Minnesota summer re­ in the twentieth century, and that recent his­ sort, is old Frontenac, on Lake Pepin south tory, too, is worth preserving. The most sig­ of Red Wing. nificant site thus far lost to the state — and Of the state's three major cities, St. Paul it was one of the first magnitude — was — the oldest — has done considerably better the Ignatius Donnelly house at Nininger. than either Minneapolis or Duluth in pre­ Writer, politician, promoter, and the father serving historic sites. There, for example, the of almost numberless reform movements and home of Minnesota's first territorial governor third parties, Donnelly was the most color­ stands in excellent condition, still occupied ful, many-sided, and paradoxical personality by a member of the Ramsey family. In Min­ ever to figure in the state's history. His home neapolis, however, the feature most impor­ was razed in 1949 and another house has tant to its founding and growth — the Falls been erected on the site. Paneling from his

ST. HUBERT'S Lodge at Frontenac, built in 1855 by Israel Garrard

MINNESOTA History THE home of Ignatius Donnelly at Nininger as it appeared in 1937, twelve years before it was demolished

ALEXANDER Ramscy home, St. Paul, built in 1872

""'I' '•j.iiimagnii^w.

June 1960 65 MODERN interpretive exhibits in the Pipestone Museum

library, many of his books, and some pieces tion should come first and that development of furniture were, however, obtained by the can always come later. This does not, how­ state historical society. ever, mean that interpretation should be Between the historic sites that have been postponed indefinitely. saved for posterity and those irretrievably Those places in Minnesota where a good lost are many that have a highly uncertain job of interpretation is being done are alto­ future. This group presents the greatest gether too few. The story of the Pipestone problem and the greatest challenge. Two Quarry is extremely well presented by the examples are the birthplaces in Sauk Centre National Park Service, and the interpretive and St. Paul of Minnesota's most famous THE Winona County i authors, Sinclair Lewis and F. Scott Fitz­ gerald. Another is the home of the Doctors Mayo in Rochester. On the whole, Minnesota has done reasonably well in the field of pres­ ervation. The survey shows that, in general, truly outstanding sites in all sections of the state have been or still can be saved, and that they represent many phases and periods of the area's development. It is in the interpretation of its historic heritage that Minnesota lags. Interpretation implies not only the preservation and main­ tenance of historical places, but also the effective telling of their stories. At its best it arouses interest and conveys with accuracy and appeal the story behind the landmark it serves; at its worst it misinforms and pro­ vides a deadly and dull advertisement for history. Our record of interpretation in Min­ nesota is unimpressive, and we have fallen behind other states of our region. There are those who feel, with justice, that preserva­

66 MINNESOTA History programs of at least three county historical was accepted, and the institution launched societies at present show great promise. The forth into a new field. Now the society is in­ Winona County society has embarked upon volved not only in the development of the an ambitious program of specialized historic Le Due house, but in the preservation of old museums, and the Marshall County society's Fort Snelling, of the Lindbergh home, and of restoration of a gristmill in Old Mill State the ancient Sioux village of Kathio. Park is one of our potentially superior inter­ The Le Due home, a splendid and beauti­ pretive jobs. The Alexander Faribault home fully preserved example of Victorian Gothic at Faribault, skillfully and accurately re­ architecture, was presented to the society by stored in recent years by the Rice County its owner, Mr, Carroll B. Simmons, on the oc­ Historical Society, is notable for the degree casion of Minnesota's statehood centennial. of original atmosphere it captures. Beyond Its construction was begun in the early 1860s these few examples, however, Minnesota has by William G. Le Due, a versatile Minnesota a long way to go in the field of interpretation, pioneer who became a Civil War general and United States commissioner of agricul­ WHAT is the Minnesota Historical Society ture under President Rutherford B. Hayes. doing to meet the problems and challenges The house is surrounded by big trees and here outlined? In 1958 the society carefully several acres of attractively landscaped reconsidered its role in the over-all state grounds, on which the original stable and an effort to safeguard historic sites. Recognizing octagonal icehouse still stand. It is expected the critical need, its executive council al­ that Mr. Simmons will continue to occupy tered a traditional policy, which had stood the house for some years, but both he and for 109 years, of refusing to acquire histori­ the society have aheady begun to plan for its cally significant real estate. When the home furnishing and interpretation. of General William G. Le Due at Hastings The Minnesota Historical Society has long was offered to the society two years ago, it been involved in preser'ving and interpreting Fort Snelling, having placed exhibits in the iSociety's steamboat museum Round Tower as early as 1941. In 1946 the modern military post that developed from old Fort Snelling was disestablished by the United States Army and turned over to the Vetreans' Administration, During the next ten years the Round Tower was neglected, suffering from lack of interest and funds. In 1957 the society received twenty-five thou­ sand dollars from the Minnesota Statehood Centennial Commission with which to ex­ cavate the old fort site and rehabilitate the museum in the Round Tower. This work was conducted during the warmer months of 1957 and 1958. Remains that came to hght included the stone foundations of seven orig­ inal fort structures — the guardhouse, the magazine, the chapel, a store, a hospital, an office building, and a pump house — all erected in the early 1820s. A sizable section of the foundation of the thick hmestone wall that once enclosed the post, as well as rem­ nants of the original gate, were also uncov-

June 1960 67 THE Lindbergh House at Little Falls

ered. The results proved beyond question son, Charles A, Lindbergh, Jr., the "Flying the desirability of restoring the old fort,^ Colonel," and to others in their family. Further work toward this end has been held The spot occupied by the ancient Sioux up until the land is transferred from the fed­ village of Kathio, near Vineland on the west eral government to the division of state parks shore of Lake Mille Lacs, is the site most and until extensive highway construction, recently acquired by the society. It was re­ including a tunnel in the vicinity of the ceived in April, 1959, from Mr. and Mrs. Round Tower, is completed. Of all the soci­ Harry D, Ayer. In addition to 104 acres of ety's historic sites projects, the restoration of land, they presented an extensive and re­ Fort Snelling has created the most public markable Indian collection and a new muse­ interest, and it appears to have a bright fu­ um in which to house it. At the same time, ture. It will be a joint venture of the Minne­ they drew wills leaving their entire estate to sota division of state parks and the historical the society. This unusually generous gift will society, the division being responsible for enable the organization to transform Kathio holding title to the area and maintaining it, into a historic attraction of great interest. and the society for restoring the post and The story of the village goes back as far interpreting its story. as 1679, when Du Luth, the first white man The society and the state parks division definitely known to have trod the soil of Min­ are co-operating on the same basis in main­ nesota, planted the flag of France on this taining and restoring the Lindbergh House spot. In the seventeenth and eighteenth at Lindbergh State Park near Little Falls. centuries Kathio and two smaller 'villages on The society has been actively involved in this the shores of Mille Lacs were the major project since 1952. With the help of mem­ strongholds of the Sioux. There lived the an­ bers of the Lindbergh family, the restora­ cestors of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Little tion of the first floor rooms was completed in Crow, and other famous Sioux leaders. the spring of 1958, Hence, the work is well About 1740 Kathio was the scene of a great under way. The site is proving popular; al­ battle between the Sioux and the Chippewa ready it attracts some twenty-five thousand — a battle that is believed to have been the visitors each year. Among the furnishings are many original items that belonged to °For a full account of this work, see John M, Congressman Charles A. Lindbergh, to his Callender, New Light on Old Fort Snelling: An Archaeological Exploration (St, Paul, 1959).

MINNESOTA History most decisive engagement between the two reveals a true understanding of the integral tribes. The Chippewa, possessing firearms, relationship between preservation and inter­ had a distinct advantage. After bravely de­ pretation. In developing the Kathio area the fending one of the lesser viflages, the Sioux society will again work closely with the divi­ retreated to the supposed security of their sion of state parks, which already owns earthen lodges at Kathio. The Chippewa de­ much adjoining land. feated them by climbing upon the lodges We have learned from experience that the and dropping gunpowder through the smoke movement to preserve historical areas goes holes. When the powder exploded in the hand in hand with the movement to con­ lodge fires, it killed most of those within. As serve natural areas. The state historical soci­ a result of this engagement, the Sioux were ety and the state park system are logical driven from Minnesota's northern lakes and allies and should work together. The park forests onto the plains to the south and west, system is well equipped to preserve natural and their way of life was drastically and per­ areas and the land on which historical places manently changed. are located; the historical society is the ob­ The dual nature of the Ayer gift — the site vious agency to carry out the interpretive plus the funds to develop and maintain it — program.

PARLOR of the Alexander Faribault House at Faribault

June 1960 69 IT IS ENCOURAGING to see state, county, helps to visualize history adds to an under­ local, and private groups co-operating in the standing not only of our past but of .our­ vital effort to conserve historic places. The selves. historic site recreates the physical aura of Yet intangible historical values find it the past. It shows visually and vividly how diflScult to compete with pressing needs of people once lived, worked, played, and died. the immediate present, like a metropohtan It helps people—^as few books can — to redevelopment, a new parking lot, a Nike visualize the past from which we have all base, or an interstate freeway. There are emerged. Like the Grand Mound, it may be those to whom the value of historic remains merely a hummock of earth, conceahng seems visionary. To them General Omar fragments from the lives of a forgotten peo­ Bradley gave a warning recently; "If we are ple; or it may be a sacred spot, like the Pipe­ not careful," he said, "we shall leave our stone Quarry, recalling traditions which children a legacy of billion dollar roads answered the eternal human questions of leading nowhere except to other congested "Whence?" "How?" and "Why?" for un­ places like those they left behind."^ As a known generations of Indians. A site may people, we would be much poorer without bring to life the personality of a man, as does our historic places. the gracious mansion built in the heart of the The decade ahead is critical for the fu­ wilderness by Henry H. Sibley; or, like the ture of historic sites in Minnesota, The battle log cabin, the country store, and the one- for land has just begun. Places that today can room schoolhouse, it may suggest a world be acquired for little or nothing may com­ but recently vanished, yet nearly as remote mand prohibitive prices within a few years. to our children as that of the mound builders Some that can still be purchased will be im­ seemed to our grandfathers. Any site that possible to obtain at all ten years hence. Thus, we must speed up our efforts to deter­ " "General of the Army Omar Nelson Bradley mine what historic sites deserve preservation Speaks Out for Conservation," in Planning and Civic Comment, December, 1959, p. 1. and then exert every effort to save them.

AN exhibit in the new Mille Lacs state Indian museum

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