A View From Enchanted Island

Real photo postcard

Today, we’re turning our gaze westward again. This time, to the shores of Enchanted Island! In my opinion, Enchanted Island has an allure that can’t be fully explained in print alone.

At the onset of the 20th century, the island was largely blanketed by natural growth. Much of the woods here would have been cottonwood, oak, spruce, birch, and the occasional pine. This is the island as it had always been; largely devoid of settlement.

However, in 1906, a large tornado swept through much of the Upper Lake area, hitting a handful of islands especially hard. Eagle, Crane, Phelps, Enchanted, and Shady Islands lost much of their natural tree coverage. It was in the aftermath of this tornado that land became more readily available on the most affected islands. Crane Island, for example, saw the creation of the Crane Island Association which still handles the island today.

Both Phelps and Enchanted Island were rapidly subdivided, downed trees removed, and undergrowth cleared to make way for new cabins and lodges. Today, the oldest homes on the islands are typically built within a few years of the 1906 tornado. The same can be said for nearby Crane Island, which saw a similar flurry of summer cottages built in the first decade of the century.

As the 1906 tornado becomes an event from nearly 120 years in the past, many of those original cottages no longer stand. Many of those that are still standing have been added to over the years. Despite the ever changing scene of Minnetonka’s shores, the effects of that tornado can still be seen today in the many homes that now dot what once was a dense forest.