Lake Bronson State Park is a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

off of Kittson County Highway 28 East near Lake Bronson in the northwestern corner 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 ...

Geology

The park is now dominated by Lake Bronson, and represents a transition between prairie and forest which supports a variety of wildlife. Thousands of years ago the area was covered by

Glacial Lake Agassiz Lake Agassiz was a large glacial lake in central North America. Fed by glacial meltwater at the end of the last glacial period, its area was larger than all of the modern Great Lakes combined. First postulated in 1823 by William H. Keating, i ...

. Lake Agassiz retreated in stages leaving gravel ridges along a generally flat terrain. Streams quietly cut through these ridges and the dam that created Lake Bronson is blocking one of these ridges along the South Branch of the Two Rivers.

History

Kittson County has no natural lakes, which is unusual for Minnesota. In the early 1930s, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, Kittson County was going through a drought. Local officials decided to build a reservoir on the South Branch of Two Rivers near the city of Bronson. Supporters lobbied the state and federal government to fund the project, and in 1936, funding was finally made available. By this time, the plan had evolved into a recreation area in addition to the reservoir. Kittson County was lacking in recreation facilities, and officials realized that county residents and tourists would appreciate a park. Construction of the reservoir started in April 1936 with crews from the

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 ...

. It was difficult to find a stable bedrock foundation for the dam, so crews needed to squeeze water from the "quicksand" foundation. Pumps were used to pull water from the quicksand while the dam was built. Since the sand would get wet and soft again, the pumps were not a permanent solution. Rather, the dam was designed with ten seepage pipes that drain into a drainage tunnel passing through the dam's three spillways. The dam, completed in June 1937, created a reservoir and was well received by local residents. The land surrounding the new reservoir was designated a state park, and several fieldstone structures were built. The most prominent of these was a hexagonal stone water tower. Other structures, such as an office, a garage, a picnic shelter, and bathing facilities followed. In 1939, the city of Bronson renamed itself "Lake Bronson" to commemorate the new reservoir. The park is now a prime recreational destination in northwest Minnesota, visited by tourists from North Dakota and southern Canada as well as Minnesotans. Fishing, swimming, canoeing, and water skiing are popular on the lake, and snowmobiling and cross-country skiing are enjoyed during the winter. The park was placed 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 v ...

in 1989.

Media References

The park is continually mentioned in David Robbins

Endworld Endworld is a series of post-apocalyptic novels written by David L. Robbins. The first book was published in 1986. As of 2021, there have been 31 novels written in the main series, along with three prequels and a crossover novel with his "Wilderne ...

series of books, as it is the home of the Family (the main characters in the Series) known as The Home.

References

External links

Lake Bronson State Park website
{{authority control 1937 establishments in Minnesota Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Protected areas established in 1937 Protected areas of Kittson County, Minnesota Rustic architecture in Minnesota State parks of Minnesota Works Progress Administration in Minnesota Bronson Bronson National Register of Historic Places in Kittson County, Minnesota