A Look Back at Lake Minnetonka's Early Watercraft

In June 2010, local historian Scott McGinnis published "A Directory of Old Boats: Lake Minnetonka's Historic Steamboats, Sailboats and Launches." On Thursday, April 28, he shared highlights of his book to over 150 people in attendance for his presentation at the Southshore Center in Shorewood.

“You can’t really understand the history of Lake Minnetonka without understanding its watercraft,” said McGinnis, a long-time Lake Minnetonka area resident who currently lives in Chaska. “Boating has shaped Lake Minnetonka since its very origins.”

McGinnis’s family came to Excelsior in 1856. He has been interested in history since age 11 and has written several other books about the Lake Minnetonka area.

He was inspired to write "A Directory of Old Boats: Lake Minnetonka's Historic Steamboats, Sailboats and Launches" after reading Randolph’s Edgar’s "A Record of Old Boats," originally published in 1926. McGinnis felt Edgar’s account wasn’t thorough enough and he decided he was up to the challenge of doing further research.

Not only did he visit local historical museums to gather information, he also traveled to boat museums in Connecticut and Rhode Island. In addition, McGinnis reviewed newspaper article archives and spoke to descendents of the boat owners in some cases. 

"A Directory of Old Boats: Lake Minnetonka's Historic Steamboats, Sailboats and Launches" highlights over 650 boats that were on Lake Minnetonka from 1899 to 1909. McGinnis alphabetized the boats by name and provides over 320 photos and illustrations in his book. The book also includes a list of boat builders and a glossary, which defines the different types of boats and boating terms.

Sponsored by The Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Historical Society (ELMHS), the presentation included an overview of the history of boating on Lake Minnetonka. McGinnis presented slides with photos and illustrations of many of the boats included in his book. He shared countless interesting facts including when each boat was built, what it was named, who owned it and its fate.

McGinnis stressed that boating was not a leisure activity in the early years on Lake Minnetonka. Because of the lack of road access, boats were critical to the development of lake communities. Delivery of supplies, dredging to further develop the shoreline and transportation were some of the functions the early boats provided. Tourism also flourished in the early years.

“By 1860, they were renting sailboats to tourists in Excelsior,” said McGinnis.

Once the automobile became the preferred mode of transportation, tourism waned and many of the early boats were no longer necessary. Some were sunk in the lake, while others were sent elsewhere or modified for different purposes.

"A Directory of Old Boats: Lake Minnetonka's Historic Steamboats, Sailboats and Launches" includes rowboats, launches, racing boats, steamboats, sailboats, ferry boats and even electric boats and a water bike. For inclusion in his book, McGinnis used the following criteria: boat size, the presence of a christened name, interesting or prominent owners, and unique characteristics and circumstances.

Only four of the boats featured in the book exist today: the Onawa, the Minnehaha, the Volante and the Harriet.

The Onawa, which was built in 1893, is on display at the ELMHS Museum in the old Excelsior Depot on Water Street. It was designed and built by local boat builder Arthur Dyer for Ward Burton of Chimo. The 24-foot canoe-like boat without a ballast won every race in which Burton raced.

“The Onawa revitalized the 23-foot racing class on the east coast,” said McGinnis.

The steamboat Minnehaha was launched on Lake Minnetonka in 1906 to provide transportation to tourists and lake residents. When there was no long a need for it, the Minnehaha was sunk on the north side of Big Island. After resting on the bottom of the lake for over 50 years, it was raised in 1980 and eventually restored. In 1996, the Minnesota Transportation Museum (MTM) began offering rides on the Minnehaha.

Private parties own the sailboat Volante and the steamboat Harriet.

"A Directory of Old Boats: Lake Minnetonka's Historic Steamboats, Sailboats and Launches" is sold at many local stores, including The Bookcase in Wayzata, the Shorewood Yacht Club and Leipold’s and Excelsior Bay Books in Excelsior.  

The non-profit ELMHS was founded in 1972. Its archives, located in the Old Excelsior Public School Building, are open on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon. For more information, visit www.elmhs.org.

Lake Minnetonka’s rich boating history dates back to the day in 1822, when two 14-year-old boys canoed up the creek now known as Minnehaha Creek to discover Lake Minnetonka. McGinnis’s book explores how boating continued throughout the lake’s early years.

That. boating tradition continues today. There can be as many as 10,000 boats on Lake Minnetonka on a busy July weekend day.