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History · Squaw Lake

Squaw Lake’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Squaw Lake. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
6recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

The Squaw Lake area was inhabited by Ojibwe people prior to the arrival of European colonizers. The land was set aside for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in 19th century treaties as part of the Leech Lake Indian Reservation. Early on it was a hub for fur traders and loggers. It was later the site of a Great Northern Railway station. A post office was established there by 1923 and it was incorporated as a village in 1940.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Squaw Lake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Squaw Lake’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Squaw Lake

See all 3 →
JRJames RobbBena · 20 miMal FreeburgMal FreeburgBlackduck · 21 miALAva LangeBlackduck · 21 mi
By decade

Squaw Lake, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today6 photos
Light bannerCommonsLight banner2025Four directions medicine wheel, Squaw Lake, Minnesota 02CommonsFour directions medicine wheel, Squaw Lake, Minnesota 022025Four directions medicine wheel, Squaw Lake, Minnesota 01CommonsFour directions medicine wheel, Squaw Lake, Minnesota 012025Fire Department and Community Center, Squaw Lake, Minnesota 11CommonsFire Department and Community Center, Squaw Lake, Minnesota…2025Business in Squaw Lake, Minnesota 09CommonsBusiness in Squaw Lake, Minnesota 092025MNMap-doton-Squaw LakeCommonsMNMap-doton-Squaw Lake2005
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Squaw Lake is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Squaw Lake has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Old Cut Foot Sioux Ranger Station in Squaw Lake, 8.8 miles away.

Squaw Lake and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Squaw Lake. Tap a dot.
Old Cut Foot Sioux Ranger StationWinnibigoshish Lake DamRabideau Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) CampWinnibigoshish ResortMinnesota and International Railway Trestle at BlackduckMarcell Ranger Station

Closest to Squaw Lake

Old Cut Foot Sioux Ranger StationSquaw Lake · Building8.8miWinnibigoshish Lake DamBena · Structure13.8miRabideau Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) CampTaylor · District19.2miWinnibigoshish ResortBena · Building19.3miMinnesota and International Railway Trestle at BlackduckBlackduck · Structure20.3mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Old Cut Foot Sioux Ranger Station’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Squaw Lake?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Squaw Lake’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Max📜 Good Hope📜 Kinghurst📜 Alvwood

From Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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