page_title: Lake George (Anoka County, Minnesota)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Lake George (Anoka County, Minnesota) / History
context_page_description: Lake George is a small lake in Anoka County, Minnesota, located within the city of Oak Grove, 12 miles north of the city of Anoka. Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources tracks the lake by the name George and the identifier 02-0091-00. The USGS tracks the lake by the ID 644081 and the coordinates of 45°21′25″N 93°20′10″W
  Roughly circular in shape with two marshes encircling Greenwald Island on the Southern shore, Lake George Regional Park covers much of the North shore. The park has picnic areas, a boat launch, and a large roped-off swimming beach. The lake is used during the summer and winter for water skiing, fishing, ice fishing, canoeing, and snowmobiling. With the exception of a few vacant lots, a wetland area in the southeast corner at the lake outlet, a new development on the west end, and the County property, there are homes located along the entire lake.
  The regions around the lake are known as: Paradise Alley, Beaver Shores, Lake George Regional Park, Cattail Oak, Shady Oak, South Bay, Greenwald Island, Indian Ridge Road.
context_section_description: Lake George was formed about 12,000 years ago following retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and drainage of glacial Lake Anoka.  The first recorded mention of the lake comes from an Indian battle which occurred in 1845. The battle followed a peace conference between the Lakota and the Ojibway at Fort Snelling. Following the conference, the Ojibway began returning home up the Mississippi River and then up the Rum River, and the Lakota set on their way up the Minnesota River. It is reported that the Ojibway took a Lakota woman with them and when the Lakota discovered this they pursued the Ojibway to their camp on the south shore of Lake George. The battle that ensued lasted for three days and resulted in over 200 dead.
  In 1847, Federal surveyors established the section and township boundaries as well as locations of Indian burial mounds. The lake is named after George Arbuckle, who was the chief surveyor of the party.  The original survey plats of lake George and Greenwald Island were published in 1848.
  After the settlement of the area, Lake George began to become popular for urban dwellers looking to find summer recreation. By the turn of the century, many cabins and, just prior to World War I, a few resorts were built. Vacationers first came by rail via the depot in Cedar and later by car. The main resorts on the lake were Hopper’s (northwest shore), Yost's (North shore), Tillbergs (now the Shoreside), Day’s (later the By George Inn) and Fleet’s Inn (northshore).  Fleet’s Inn was located not too far from the present day county beach. It was said that gangsters from nearby St. Paul would check in when the heat was on in town. The Chicago mob would occasionally visit them to make business deals.
  Greenwald Island is named after Aaron Greenwald, who was born December 2, 1832 and eventually settled in Anoka where he found work as a miller in one of the local flour mills. Aaron and wife, Ann, had two sons: William born August 8, 1859 and Louis on Oct 10, 1860.  It is possible that Aaron was the first man to enlist for the Union cause.
  In the late 1930s the Lake George Conservation Club was formed. At the time most of the lakeshore residents were seasonal. In the 1970s the face of the lake’s neighborhoods began to change with permanent homes replacing the summer cabins. The clubs activities began to dwindle until 1981 when an issue regarding horsepower regulation on the lake united the lake’s residents and the club was reconstituted. In the summer of 1998 there was a dead body found in the lake.
  In January 2004, the two marshes were dredged to open a channel.
caption: 1847 Plat map of Lake George.
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