This Central MN Town Was Known For Making Ice

WJON's small town series brings us to Big Lake.  Big Lake is a city of 11,686 located in Sherburne County along Highway 10 just east of Becker and west of Elk River.  Big Lake was originally called Humboldt until 1867.  It features two prominent lakes with Big Lake and Mitchell Lake in the city limits.

To help tell the story of Big Lake I was joined by Big Lake Historian and creator of "Big Lake History" on Facebook, Jana Harrer, Big Lake Mayor Paul Knier and Big Lake City Administrator Hanna Klimmek.  Harrer says in 1846 the first settler came to the area, his name was Joseph Brown.   He was a territorial sheriff who also built a hotel in the town.  What is now Highway 10 was originally part of the Ox Cart trail that came through the area.  Harrer says early businesses include liveries, a couple hotels, and weigh stations.

The settlement was originally named Humboldt before switching to Big Lake in 1867.  Harrer says it isn't clear why the town changed names or who Humboldt was named after.  When the railroad came to town in the 1880s Big Lake became a location for 3 large ice houses.  Harrer says the ice houses were 3 stories tall.  The lake was perfect for making ice due to the clarity of the lake.  She indicated Big Lake also had an amusement park on the east side of the lake before that location became a dance hall, then a roller rink and eventually a residence.  Harrer says both Big Lake and Mitchell Lakes had numerous resorts and camps before those locations became single family homes.

Big Lake is well known for potatoes.  Spud Fest is the big yearly celebration in Big Lake, which is held the last weekend of June each year.  Knier says the event has always been fun but it has been taken to another level in the past couple of years.  Spud Fest has a softball tournament, bingo, bands every night, a carnival, car show and parade.  Harrer say Spud Fest is to celebrate all the nearby potato farms.  Harrer recalls spud wrestling being a part of Spud Fest at one time.  She says there is a push to bring it back.  Harrer says it was messy.

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Big Lake's population is just shy of 13,000 and has more than double its size in the past 15 years.  Major industry in Big Lake includes Premier Marine and Cargill Protein.  Paul Knier says Big Lake has many small business owners and a diverse commercial community.  Hanna Klimmek says the city limits in Big Lake is quite large from City Limits Park on the west side to County Road 15 on the east side.

A unique development in Big Lake are the Car Condos on the east side of town.  Klimmek says the idea was brought to them in 2017.  They are condos that include large garages and feature "man caves".  She says this type of development can also be found in Shakopee.  Klimmek says these condos sold out quickly.

Big Lake schools offer a youth apprenticeship program where students can leave school and work for the industries in the community and get credit at the same time.  Klimmek says the school district is the heart of the community.

Big Lake is also the home of North Star Rail.  Klimmek and Knier indicate ridership is way down and if this were to go away, it wouldn't be a bad thing for Big Lake.

If you'd like to listen to my 2-part conversation with Jana, Hanna and Paul, it is available below.