Flandrau State Park is a
state park of
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, on the
Cottonwood River adjacent to the city of
New Ulm. Initially called Cottonwood River State Park, it was renamed in 1945 to honor
Charles Eugene Flandrau, a leading citizen of early Minnesota who commanded defenses during the
Battles of New Ulm in the
Dakota War of 1862
The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several ban ...
. The park was originally developed in the 1930s as a
job creation project to provide a recreational
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
. However the dam was repeatedly damaged by floods and was removed in 1995.
Along with the dam, crews from the
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
(CCC) and
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
(WPA) built several structures in the
National Park Service rustic style. In a unique twist on the mandate to harmonize with the local environment, the buildings were designed to reflect the
ethnic German
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, region1 =
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, region2 =
, pop2 = 534,000
, region3 =
, pop3 = 157,000
3,322,405
, region4 =
, pop4 = ...
heritage of New Ulm. The WPA barracks were reused during World War II as Camp New Ulm, housing German
prisoners of war. All of these structures are listed as a district on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.
Natural history
Geography
Flandrau State Park lies in a small valley carved by the east-flowing Cottonwood River. Marshy
oxbow lakes mark the river's former courses along the valley floor.
The steep valley walls rise . The Cottonwood joins the
Minnesota River just east of the park.
It originates west of the park in
Lyon County, Minnesota
Lyon County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,269. Its county seat is Marshall.
Lyon County comprises the Marshall, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The county was established ...
.
The park boundary largely follows the valley rim. Trees on the slopes generally screen the adjacent development. The northern end of the park, including the campground, is within the city limits of New Ulm.
No bridges cross the river within Flandrau, so the parkland on the south bank is not readily accessible. The only development there, the group center, is at the end of a gated road.
Geology
Flandrau State Park lies atop a
bedrock of
shale,
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
, and
conglomerate.
These sediments accumulated at the bottom of the
Western Interior Seaway
The Western Interior Seaway (also called the Cretaceous Seaway, the Niobraran Sea, the North American Inland Sea, and the Western Interior Sea) was a large inland sea that split the continent of North America into two landmasses. The ancient sea ...
100 million years ago during the late
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
period. The fine-grained sandstone is white with bands of orange from
iron oxide, and contains fossilized plant material.
The conglomerate contains pebbles of
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
that had formed 3,000–2,500 million years ago and later eroded into the seaway.
Lying directly atop the Cretaceous rocks is
till
image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...
just a few thousand years old. All intermediate rock had eroded away before the till was deposited in a ground
moraine by
continental glacier
In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland; during the Last Glacial Period at La ...
s.
Within Flandrau State Park this glacial debris is thick.
While the till contains some rock from Canada and northern Minnesota, most is from the local region.
Numerous
springs emerge at the base of the till slopes, especially at the western end of the park.
As the northern glaciers melted, the massive
Glacial River Warren
Glacial River Warren, also known as River Warren, was a prehistoric river that drained Lake Agassiz in central North America between about 13,500 and 10,650 BP calibrated (11,700 and 9,400 14C uncalibrated) years ago. A part of the uppermost porti ...
carved a deep channel for itself. The modern Minnesota River follows the same course, but occupies only a fraction of the former riverbed. Its tributaries must drop from the surrounding plains into the broad valley to reach their
base level. This is why the Cottonwood River, a placid prairie stream for most of its length, plunges into such a deep valley near its mouth. The Cottonwood's
downcutting
Downcutting, also called erosional downcutting, downward erosion or vertical erosion is a geological process by hydraulic action that deepens the channel of a stream or valley by removing material from the stream's bed or the valley's floor. T ...
has carved all the way through the thick glacial till and a few feet into the Cretaceous bedrock below. There may once have been a waterfall on the Cottonwood River, which eroded into rapids before achieving the steady
gradient
In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the gr ...
of modern times.
Flora
The vegetation of Flandrau State Park is representative of the Upper Minnesota River Country Biocultural Region.
Although the surrounding
tallgrass prairie
The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroachm ...
is gone, the forested river valley remains similar to times before European settlement.
The valley floor supports
marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...
es and
wet prairie interspersed with
bottomland hardwood forest of
willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...
,
eastern cottonwood
''Populus deltoides'', the eastern cottonwood or necklace poplar, is a cottonwood poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States as well as the southern Canadian prairies, the southernm ...
,
American elm
''Ulmus americana'', generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America, naturally occurring from Nova Scotia west to Alberta and Montana, and south to F ...
,
silver maple
''Acer saccharinum'', commonly known as silver maple, creek maple, silverleaf maple, soft maple, large maple, water maple, swamp maple, or white maple, is a species of maple native to the eastern and central United States and southeastern Canad ...
, and
green ash
''Fraxinus pennsylvanica'', the green ash or red ash, is a species of ash native to eastern and central North America, from Nova Scotia west to southeastern Alberta and eastern Colorado, south to northern Florida, and southwest to Oklahoma and e ...
.
The steep valley walls bear
northern hardwood forest
The northern hardwood forest is a general type of North American forest ecosystem found over much of southeastern and south-central Canada, Ontario, and Quebec, extending south into the United States in northern New England, New York, and Pennsyl ...
, although the cooler, moister north-facing slopes favor
sugar maple
''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the prim ...
,
basswood, and
common hackberry while the drier south slopes are characterized by
bur oak
''Quercus macrocarpa'', the bur oak or burr oak, is a species of oak tree native to eastern North America. It is in the white oak section, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'', and is also called mossycup oak, mossycup white oak, blue oak, or scrub o ...
,
eastern red cedar
''Juniperus virginiana'', also known as red cedar, eastern red cedar, Virginian juniper, eastern juniper, red juniper, and other local names, is a species of juniper native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico a ...
, and
aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
*'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...
.
A few dry, sunny knolls support prairie characterized by
big bluestem
''Andropogon gerardi'', commonly known as big bluestem, is a species of tall grass native to much of the Great Plains and grassland regions of central and eastern North America. It is also known as tall bluestem, bluejoint, and turkeyfoot.
Taxon ...
and
indian grass.
The park's plant communities have been altered since Euro-American settlement. Without periodic
wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...
s to thin
woody plant
A woody plant is a plant that produces wood as its structural tissue and thus has a hard stem. In cold climates, woody plants further survive winter or dry season above ground, as opposite to herbaceous plants that die back to the ground until sp ...
s, the valleyside forests have gotten denser and many prairie openings have filled in with
sumac
Sumac ( or ), also spelled sumach, is any of about 35 species of flowering plants in the genus ''Rhus'' and related genera in the cashew family (Anacardiaceae). Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, including Eas ...
. Many elm trees were lost to
Dutch elm disease
Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by a member of the sac fungi (Ascomycota) affecting elm trees, and is spread by elm bark beetles. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease was accidentally introduced into Americas, America ...
. The valley floor is largely
secondary forest, having been cleared for agriculture and then submerged under a reservoir.
Fauna
Surrounded by human development, Flandrau is an important refuge for local wildlife.
The 25 species of mammals seen in the park include
white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
,
coyotes
The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological nich ...
,
gray fox
The gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus''), or grey fox, is an omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, widespread throughout North America and Central America. This species and its only congener, the diminutive island fox (''Urocyon littor ...
es,
raccoon
The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...
s,
beavers
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...
,
skunks
Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ging ...
,
opossums
Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 93 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North A ...
, and
minks.
Over 168 species of birds have been documented in the park. Many of these are birds migrating through rather than nesting.
These include many
warblers
Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous.
Sylvioid warblers
The ...
, flycatchers,
vireo
The vireos make up a family, Vireonidae, of small to medium-sized passerine birds found in the New World (Canada to Argentina, including Bermuda and the West Indies) and Southeast Asia. "Vireo" is a Latin word referring to a green migrato ...
s, and
thrushes
The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flyca ...
.
The Cottonwood River supports a few
game fish
Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commercial ...
— notably
northern pike
The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a p ...
and
smallmouth bass — and a greater variety of
rough fish Rough fish (or the slang trash fish or dirt fish) is a term used by some United States state agencies and anglers to describe fish that are less desirable to sport anglers within a defined region. The term usually refers to larger game fish specie ...
.
Cultural history
Archaeological evidence found outside the park confirms that prehistoric Native Americans inhabited the Cottonwood River valley. A few sites were as much as 7,000 years old, though most were 2,000 years old or less. At the time of European contact in the mid-17th century the area was home to the
Dakota
Dakota may refer to:
* Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux
** Dakota language, their language
Dakota may also refer to:
Places United States
* Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Dakota, Illinois, a town
* Dakota, Minnesota, ...
.
Pioneers began settling the Cottonwood Valley in the 1830s.
In less than a century, though, the valley floor was largely abandoned due to the periodic flooding.
State park creation
To help combat unemployment during the
Great Depression, federal funding was dedicated to park development throughout the United States. The Cottonwood River valley was selected as it was in a well-populated region with no other large recreational area or lakes. Moreover, the land was largely abandoned and seemingly in need of
flood control
Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
structures.
The state of Minnesota purchased the property in 1934. The first Works Progress Administration (WPA) enrollees arrived in September, living in tents while they built bunkhouses, a mess hall, and an administrative building over the winter. Mostly middle-aged
skilled worker
A skilled worker is any worker who has special skill, training, knowledge which they can then apply to their work. A skilled worker may have attended a college, university or technical school. Alternatively, a skilled worker may have learned thei ...
s, the WPA men quarried stone and constructed three park buildings: a beachhouse, a manager's residence, and a garage.
A second workforce arrived in June 1935, establishing its own camp in the southwest corner of the park. These were less-skilled workers hired through the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). They built the dam and its earthen dikes, constructed a kitchen shelter, landscaped, planted trees, and blazed trails. WPA and CCC workers cleared trees out of the lakebed. For the first year the laborers were World War I veterans from the
Veterans Conservation Corps (VCC). In July 1936 they transferred to other Minnesota state parks and were replaced with the unemployed young men more typical of CCC projects.
The dam, completed in 1937 after two years of work, impounded a reservoir of . The WPA continued to work in the park until 1941 and the CCC until 1942.
As planned, the WPA camp was converted to a group center while the CCC camp was razed.
The stone structures built by the WPA have been called " the most unusual architectural designs in the state park system" by the
Minnesota Historical Society.
A principle of the rustic style was to harmonize with the local environment, generally by using local materials. In this case, however, architect Edward W. Barber chose to reflect local culture as well, honoring the strong German heritage of New Ulm. The park buildings evoke the
architecture of Germany
The architecture of Germany has a long, rich and diverse history. Every major European style from Roman to Postmodern is represented, including renowned examples of Carolingian, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Modern ...
with steeply pitched roofs,
dormers, chimneys,
casement windows with small
panes, and fine nonlinear stonework.
The beachhouse is also one of the largest New Deal structures in the Minnesota state park system.
Camp New Ulm
![Flandrau State Park Group Camp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Flandrau_State_Park_Group_Camp.jpg)
During World War II, the empty group camp built by the WPA was used to house
German prisoners of war in the United States
Members of the German military were interned as prisoners of war in the United States during World War I and World War II. In all, 425,000 German prisoners lived in 700 camps throughout the United States during World War II.
World War I
Hostili ...
. Late in the war, Great Britain was short on space and resources to provide for captured enemy combatants; meanwhile, much of the U.S. labor force was off serving in the military. The U.S. established camps throughout the country from which 450,000 POWs were employed in non-defense industries. Nine POW camps were established in Minnesota — including one other state park,
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 ...
— all managed from a regional headquarters in
Algona, Iowa
Algona is the county seat of Kossuth County, Iowa, Kossuth County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,487 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Ambrose A. Call State Park is located two miles southwest of the city.
History
Algona ...
.
About 160 German POWs arrived at Camp New Ulm in June 1944. Mostly members of the
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
(the German Air Force), they ranged in age from 18 to 25.
Twelve men from the U.S. Army served as their guards.
The POWs primarily worked in the nearby town of
Sleepy Eye at a cannery, which paid the rent on the camp.
After the harvest season, prisoners worked at brick and tile factories and a poultry processing plant. Ochs Brick in Springfield was one.
Small groups were hired out to local farms, unguarded, as short-term
farmworker
A farmworker, farmhand or agricultural worker is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including harv ...
s. The POWs spent the winter at the regional main camp in Algona and returned in spring 1945. That year their use on farms expanded considerably, encompassing worksites in eight counties, while prisoners at the cannery were instrumental in packing Sleepy Eye's largest-ever pea crop.
The location of Camp New Ulm outside a town with a strong German heritage was a lucky break for the POWs. Many locals still spoke German and were sympathetic toward the prisoners (and hoping in many cases for news of relatives and the old country).
German-speaking church officials held Lutheran and Catholic services in the camp and gathered donations of reading material.
Although the guards warned civilians that they were not to have contact with the POWs, food was slipped over the fence, cannery workers shared ice cream and beer, and young women waded across the river at night to flirt at the camp's edge.
POWs out on weeklong farm details fared best of all, often receiving full home-cooked meals at the family dinner table.
Prisoner Helmut Lichtenberg, who had become friendly with a farm family he'd worked for, arranged to slip out of camp and spend much of a weekend with them. Mindless of the severity of the infraction, the farmer and his mother-in-law drove Lichtenberg into camp Sunday afternoon, where they were stopped by guards. Lichtenberg was punished with
solitary confinement; the Americans were ultimately both fined $300 and lectured by the judge. Their testimony indicated that other prisoners undertook such forays, but this was the camp's only documented escape incident.
For recreation the POWs had a clubhouse with a fireplace and library, a camp store, a sport field, and a workshop where they made their own furniture and sporting equipment. They were allowed to swim and fish in part of Cottonwood Lake.
Further entertainments included newspapers, radios, and weekly movie screenings.
Some musical instruments were gathered, and locals came to listen and sing along to Sunday afternoon concerts.
Camp New Ulm closed in December 1945 and all of the internees were eventually repatriated to Germany.
One of the former prisoners later immigrated to the United States, settling in Wisconsin.
The camp remains in use as the state park's group center, one of the country's few World War II POW camps that are still maintained.
When the camp is not occupied, visitors can ask at the park office to access the grounds.
Recent history
By World War II, sentiment developed for renaming the park after Charles Flandrau (1828–1903), a notable figure in early Minnesota history. A lawyer,
Indian agent
In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the government.
Background
The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the United States first included development of t ...
, and statesman, Flandrau served on the territorial supreme court, presided over the first court session in Brown County, and led the military defense of New Ulm during the Dakota War of 1862. The name was changed in March 1945.
Two years later the Cottonwood Lake Dam was overtopped and seriously damaged by a
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
. It was reconstructed at great expense, but damaged again by flooding in spring 1965. This time federal funds were denied, and the state opted for a shorter dam and a separate swimming pool. However a third damaging flood swept through in 1969.
With local opinion divided about reestablishing the recreational lake, the state commissioned an independent study. The engineering consultants reported that, although a restored dam would improve habitat for
panfish
The word panfish, also spelled pan-fish or pan fish, is an American English term describing any edible freshwater fish that usually do not outgrow the size of an average frying pan. It is also commonly used by recreational anglers to refer to a ...
and block upstream movement of undesirable species such as
carp, it would not provide effective flood control.
The capacity of the lake basin was too small compared to the watershed, exacerbated by increased
agricultural drainage and
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...
loss since the original damming in the 1930s. Nor would a new dam be cost-effective for generating
hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
, and the lake would be prone to heavy
sedimentation
Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the ...
and periods of poor water quality.
The director of the state parks division recommended against rebuilding the dam.
Some structures remained for several years; full
dam removal
Dam removal is the process of demolishing a dam, returning water flow to the river. Arguments for dam removal consider whether their negative effects outweigh their benefits. The benefits of dams include hydropower production, flood control, i ...
took place in 1995 and the Cottonwood River is again free-flowing through the park. As an interpretive sign reads, "the dam that took almost 200 men nearly two years to build was demolished by four men and heavy equipment in five months."
Recreation
Flandrau State Park has of trails for hiking, walking, and running.
Many connect to city streets such as Indian Point Dr. and Summit Ave., so the park experiences significant walk-in traffic.
In winter 6 miles of the trails are groomed for
cross-country skiing and 2 miles for
snowshoeing.
The park maintains three campgrounds with 92 sites total, 34 of which have electrical hookups. There are also three secluded walk-in sites. Visitors can rent two camper cabins or the historic group center, which sleeps up to 110 in eight bunkhouses.
The popular day-use area centers around a unique sand-bottomed,
chlorinated
In chemistry, halogenation is a chemical reaction that entails the introduction of one or more halogens into a compound. Halide-containing compounds are pervasive, making this type of transformation important, e.g. in the production of polyme ...
swimming pool. This is adjacent to the historic beachhouse and a picnic area with a playground,
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...
and
horseshoes
Horseshoe is a shoe for horses and by analogy is applied to many things with a similar shape.
Horseshoes (game), a tossing game played with a horseshoe
Horseshoe(s) or Horse Shoe(s) may also refer to:
Places
* Horseshoe Valley (disambiguation) ...
facilities, and a reservable shelter.
Most fishing is done at the downstream end of the Cottonwood River, near the park's eastern edge, where the riverbank is most easily accessed.
Flandrau is adjacent to Nehls City Park, the private New Ulm Country Club, and the
August Schell Brewing Company. The
Hermann Heights Monument
The Hermann Heights Monument is a statue erected in New Ulm, Minnesota. The statue depicts Arminius (german: Hermann), an ancient Cheruscan, but locals refer to the statue as Hermann the German. The only National Register of Historic Places prop ...
and
Martin Luther College
Martin Luther College (MLC) is a private college in New Ulm, Minnesota, operated by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). Martin Luther College was established in 1995, when Northwestern College (NWC) of Watertown, Wisconsin, combined ...
are within blocks of the park entrance.
References
External links
Official Flandrau State Park website
{{authority control
1937 establishments in Minnesota
Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota
German-American culture in Minnesota
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
National Register of Historic Places in Brown County, Minnesota
New Ulm, Minnesota
Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
Protected areas established in 1937
Protected areas of Brown County, Minnesota
Rustic architecture in Minnesota
State parks of Minnesota
Works Progress Administration in Minnesota
World War II prisoner of war camps in the United States