Too Hot, Went to Lake

Boating, about 1960, photograph by John Banks, MHS Collections (Negative no. 71367).

Summer weather in Minnesota means heat and sweat, provoking the next thought: finding water. Indian tribes were the first to build summer villages on high ground overlooking lakes and rivers. By the mid-19th century, Minnesota's waters had become a tourist destination as state promoters urged travelers to enjoy the advantages of clean air and water. Today, one of every six Minnesotans owns a boat and heads for a lake when it's just too hot to do much else.