Navigating Minnetonka In The 1910’s

Produced by the Twin City Rapid Transit Company, 1915

As our Independence Day weekend looms, many dedicated boaters know that Minnetonka is quickly approaching the busiest days of the year. Boats of all sizes will ply the waters and create a bustle unlike any other time of year. Of course, that’s the nature of things on this lake, as it has been for many decades now.

However, this steamboat route map from exactly 100 years ago affords us a glimpse of what a day on the lake once meant to the average person. . . In a time where a private boat was an uncommon luxury, most would book passage on the Twin City Lines’ streetcar boats.

These boats, like the famous Minnehaha, were capable of bringing cottage owners to their summer residences and tourists to the many hotels dotting the shoreline. The astute reader may notice that, among 26 stops, none are made to the Big Island amusement park. This map, from 1915, was printed after the park’s closure in 1911. Of course, streetcar boats wouldn’t stop at the park’s dock years after it had gone silent. Though, they didn’t stop at the park while it was in operation either!

The famed yellow streetcar boats were never intended to stop at Big Island Park. Rather, the company ran special ferries designed specifically to bring guests to the island. Rather, this map is depicting ONLY stops made by the streetcar boats.

It was in their era that the lake was largely traversed by canoe, sail, and the occasional “gasoline launch”. Steam ferries dominated the water and brought a sense of dependable routine to the lake folk. In an era before and leading up to widespread automobile transport, these ferries were imperative to commerce on Minnetonka.

The distinct lack of personally owned watercraft was a major factor in keeping the lake quiet and still. Many locals of the time would later write about how calm the water was. On windless days, the glassy water was usually only broken by those few who took to the lake for an afternoon picnic or trip into town.

With the past in mind, be sure to take a moment to enjoy the present as boats skid across dancing waves to create memories for today’s generations to enjoy. Happy Fourth of July!