Crane Island: A Historical Hidden Gem of Lake Minnetonka
In 1991, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Crane Island Historic District
Nestled quietly on Upper Lake Minnetonka in Minnetrista, Crane Island stands as a testament to the harmony between nature, history, and community. Spanning just under 10 acres—the island carries a rich narrative that stretches over a century.
In the early 1900s, Crane Island was a thriving heron rookery, a sanctuary for nature’s graceful avian inhabitants. However, a powerful storm in 1906 uprooted many of the island’s trees, forcing the herons to relocate to nearby Wawatasso Island. Seizing the opportunity, Charles E. Woodward, a summer resident of Mound, Minnesota, envisioned the island as a peaceful summer retreat. In 1907, he and a group from the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis purchased the island, establishing the Crane Island Association. They carefully designed the island’s commons area in a New England style, with a caretaker’s lodge, icehouse, tennis court, and shared spaces for recreation and community gatherings.
Through the decades, families flocked to Crane Island each summer, arriving by boat to their cottages and leaving only when the season ended. This tradition fostered a close-knit, almost timeless community that valued simplicity, nature, and fellowship. Life on the island was chronicled by Marjorie Myers Douglas, who spent her childhood summers there and later immortalized the island in her memoir Barefoot on Crane Island. Her work captures the carefree spirit of the island and the profound sense of belonging it nurtured among its residents.
1991, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Crane Island Historic District, recognizing both its cultural importance and its architectural integrity. Today, the island remains accessible only by boat, preserving its serene and secluded charm. Its thirteen cottages and shared amenities like the tennis court and playground continue to uphold the traditions of community and summer leisure.
Crane Island is more than just a scenic retreat; it is a living archive of Minnesotan history, reflecting the region’s early 20th-century values of community, simplicity, and reverence for nature. For over a century, it has offered an escape from modern life, a place where summers unfold at a gentler pace and memories are woven amid the whispers of the lake and the rustle of leaves. In its quiet beauty, Crane Island reminds us that history is not just in textbooks.
