Location
Walnut Lake is in Faribault County WALNUT LAKE Township, settled in June 1856, organized in 1861, bears the name of its large lake, referring to its butternut trees, also called oil-nut and white walnut. It is translated from the Dakota name Tazuka. The village of Walnut Lake, section 27, on the northwest side of Walnut Lake, flourished with hotels, a post office, a school, several stores, dwellings, and a blacksmith shop. Its first post office operated 1860-69, when it was transferred to Wells; a second post office operated 1870-82. The village was a popular stage stop for persons hunting lands to the west. From: Upham, Warren. Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, First edition 1920. Third Edition 2001. Print.
