How The Environment Has Shaped the State

From Sustenance to Leisure on Minnesota Land

Expert Essay: Associate professor of history Michael J. Lansing, published in Environmental History as well as Ethics, Place, and Environment, highlights the many ways people have made use of Minnesota's flora and fauna over time and reviews the state's more recent efforts at conservation.

Cherokee Park, St. Paul

Cherokee Park, located in the West Side neighborhood of St. Paul, is a regional park comprising 100 acres of forested bluff and blufftop parklands along the Mississippi River. The St. Paul Park Board first established a ten-acre section of the park in 1905 near the High Bridge, with subsequent expansions in 1906, the 1910s, and the 1970s. The park is well known for its spectacular view of the Mississippi River Valley, and of both downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Trees in Cherokee Park

Trees in Cherokee Park

Trees in Cherokee Regional Park, St. Paul, October 21, 2023. Photograph by Emily Shepard. CC BY-SA 4.0

Map of the area around Cherokee Park, 1911

Map of the area around Cherokee Park, 1911

Map in 21st Annual Report of the Board of Park Commissioners of St Paul, MN, 1911. Available at the Minnesota Historical Society library as SB482.M62 S313 1904–1913.

Map of the area around Cherokee Park, 1908

Map of the area around Cherokee Park, 1908

Map of the area around Cherokee Park, 1908. From Atlas of the City of St. Paul (H. M. Smyth Printing Company, 1908). Available at the Minnesota Historical Society library as OVERSIZE G1429.S4 C83 1908.

Plat map of Cherokee Park, 1928

Plat map of Cherokee Park, 1928

Image from Plat Book of the City of St. Paul, Minn and Suburbs (G. M. Hopkins Company, 1928). Available at the Minnesota Historical Society library as OVERSIZE G1429.S4 S2 1928.

Mississippi River southwest of downtown St. Paul, 1953

Mississippi River southwest of downtown St. Paul, 1953

Aerial photograph of the Mississippi River southwest of downtown St. Paul, with Cherokee Park visible in the upper right, 1953. Minnesota Historical Aerial Photographs Online, John R. Borchert Map Library, University of Minnesota.

Mississippi River southwest of downtown St. Paul, 1937

Mississippi River southwest of downtown St. Paul, 1937

Aerial photograph of the Mississippi River southwest of downtown St. Paul, with Cherokee Park visible in the lower left, 1937. Minnesota Historical Aerial Photographs Online, John R. Borchert Map Library, University of Minnesota.

Mississippi River southwest of downtown St. Paul, 1923

Mississippi River southwest of downtown St. Paul, 1923

Aerial photograph of the Mississippi River southwest of downtown St. Paul, with Cherokee Park visible in the lower left, 1923. Minnesota Historical Aerial Photographs Online, John R. Borchert Map Library, University of Minnesota.

Cherokee Park picnic area, ca. 1935

Cherokee Park picnic area, ca. 1935

Picnic area at Cherokee Park, St. Paul, ca. 1935. Photograph by Northwestern Photographic Studio.

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