Beaver is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in
Whitewater Township,
Winona County
Winona County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, its population was 49,671. Its county seat is Winona. Winona County comprises the Winona, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The Wisconsin Territory was ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, United States, located near the junction of
State Highway 74 and Winona County Road 30. Nearby places include
Altura,
Elba
Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National ...
,
Plainview,
St. Charles,
Weaver, and
Whitewater State Park. The
Whitewater River and Beaver Creek both flow through the area.
History
Beaver was settled in 1854, by people from New England. It was the first community established in the
Whitewater
Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...
valley. The name came from observing beavers building dams on the creek that travels through the site to join with the Whitewater River. Following the example of the beavers, the early settlers decided to dam the creek to furnish power for a mill. The community was platted in 1856 by Albert Hopson, Dr.
Sheldon Brooks, and William J. Duley, as 20 blocks on . Beaver had a post office from 1857 to 1906. At one time, the community also had a flour mill, hardware store, general store, Methodist church, blacksmith, wagon shop, saloon (maybe two), hotel, school, and cheese factory. However, the farming practices up the hillsides encouraged erosion, and the high hills produced frequent flooding. At first rich soil came down the hillsides when rains came. Then sand from the underlying sandstone was washed down year after year covering everything. Some years because of the flooding the farmers had to plant three times. The flood deposits devastated the area, and today, most of the site is overgrown and much is swampy. In 1932, the state purchased most of the land, buildings were torn down and the Beaver area became a nature reserve.
Eleanor Putnam, age 89 in 2009, a former resident of Beaver during her childhood in the 1920s and 1930s, recalled climbing the hills around Beaver, and how her family farmed the rugged land. She recalled her uncle struggling to climb the hills to farm the top of a plateau, which can be seen in aerial photos. The Beaver Cemetery, just west of the old community center, is where many of the original settlers of Beaver were laid to rest.
GNIS Data on Beaver Cemetery
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References
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Unincorporated communities in Minnesota
Unincorporated communities in Winona County, Minnesota