Location
Lake Minnewaska is in Pope County MINNEWASKA Township, adjoining the northern shore of the largest lake in this county, bears the name given to the lake by the white settlers made from two Dakota words, mini or minne, "water," and washta or waska, "good." Prof. N. H. Winchell wrote of the lake and its successive names, as follows: "This lake, according to statements of citizens of Glenwood, was originally designated by an Indian name, meaning Dish Lake, because of its being in a low basin. After that, when the chief, White Bear, was buried in a high hill on the north shore, it was called White Bear Lake. After a time it was changed to Lake Whipple, from Bishop Whipple, of Faribault, and by act of the state legislature in 1883 it was again changed to Minnewaska, or Good-water. It is said to be 85 feet deep in its deepest part and averages about 40 feet, and there is no known evidence of its having ever stood at a higher level" (Geological Survey of Minnesota, Thirteenth Annual Report, for 1884, p. 14). From: Upham, Warren. Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, First edition 1920. Third Edition 2001. Print.
