Vacations to Home
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Stereoview of the Governor Ramsey / Lady of the Lake in Wayzata
In the modern era, our community is dotted with snowbirds all over. Many of whom are still gone for the winter and don’t hope to return until April or May. While today there is a seasonal migration out of the area, in the late 1800’s, we experienced a very opposing trend! During the lake’s golden era, many wealthy Americans had one travel destination on their mind: Minnetonka.
The first train steamed into Wayzata just one day after the tracks had been completed. On August 24, 1867, a wood-burning locomotive owned by the Saint Paul & Pacific Railway chugged into town with a single passenger car in tow and, upon its arrival, guests were met on shore by the lake’s only steamboat, the Excelsior. (Formerly Governor Ramsey) (2) Despite being the literal end of the railway, Wayzata proved to be popular enough to be designated as a daily arrival on the line from Minneapolis.
With this as our starting shot, the enchanting allure of Lake Minnetonka spread across the United States like wildfire. For those who settled Wayzata and Excelsior in the 1850’s, looking back at the transformation of their hometowns must have been nearly unbelievable! Just 20 years after after that first train had arrived, the lake was already populated with no less than a dozen hotels and inns. Some of which were considered some of the finest to be found anywhere west of New York!
From roughly May to September, the hotels were flooded with reservations that kept business going strong. Many of the tourists were wealthy southerners from areas like Saint Louis, Kansas City, and New Orleans who wanted to escape the sweltering heat of their hometowns. Some especially affluent visitors would book an entire summer’s retreat to Minnetonka and brought a select handful of slaves along with them. Some hotels even catered to this clientele by offering special slave quarters on site. Minnetonka also made itself a brief resting place for U.S. presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Chester Arthur, and William Howard Taft.
When describing Minnetonka’s notoriety, I often liken it to modern day Disneyland. When someone returns from a trip and says they were at Disneyland, you’ll likely know exactly where they were. Likewise, Lake Minnetonka had the same effect some 140 years ago! This golden era of tourism lasted 35 or so years before beginning to drop off around the start of World War 1 as the economy slowed and popular tourist destinations began to change.
Today the Lafayette Club, Steamboat Minnehaha, Big Island Park, Spring Park cottages, and more remain as visible testaments to this era in our history. So, when booking your spring break flights to Florida, Arizona, or wherever else, remember to also enjoy the scenery here. It’s one that hundreds of thousands came from all across the nation to bear witness to: That one great “Queen of all Lakes”, Minnetonka.
Bibliography of sources:
Photo sourced from Lake Minnetonka Historical Society. ID # 75.61.0003
Happenings Around Wayzata, Wilson Meyer, 1980, p.14
Footnote:
Article as seen in Tonka Living Magazine & Skipper Living Magazine’s March, 2026 edition.
The boat is best known as the Governor Ramsey, but had been renamed to Excelsior in early 1867. Then, in the fall of 1867, was renamed to Lady of the Lake. Once more, in 1871, was renamed to Minnetonka.
