“I have been told that when we walk the land our breath falls to the earth and in that place we are remembered always. Therefore, on a certain fragrant day, I considered all who had climbed these hills before me, stepped through fallen leaves and walked beneath the pine. I thought of those who were coming, too. Surely they will remember that our living breath has fallen in this place and cannot be removed from our good and ancient land.” Ann M. Dunn (Anishanaabe Story-teller)
The White Earth Reservation was created in 1867. To facilitate its development and administration a new road was proposed in the fall 1869 by J.J.S. Hassler, the Indian agent and U.S. Army officer in charge of the Leech Lake reservation. He recommended, “that a good, practicable wagon road be made from [the Leech Lake Reservation] to the White Earth reservation. It would very much facilitate the transaction of the business of the agency, and place the agent in more direct communication with that portion of the Indians”.
The “business of the agency” included moving federal troops and Native Americans as well as supplies between the reservations. Not all actions of the agency were benign. In fact, the last armed conflict between Native Americans and the U. S. military in the 19th century occurred at the Leech Lake Reservation in 1898 when Ojibwe in the area became angered by the progressive loss of their land to Caucasian settlers and aggressive logging of their lands.
A sum of $12,000 was requested for the road. The Secretary of Interior endorsed the request in December 1869 and construction of a rough wagon trail was completed during 1870 under the leadership of First Lieutenant George Atcheson, who succeeded Brevet Captain Hassler as the Indian agent at Leech Lake on January 1, 1870.
By 1871 the White Earth Road was in regular use. The road was still in use in the fall of 1892 when “a mail-stage line was put in operation between Park Rapids and the town of Leech Lake over the old agency road.” Gradually the road was either abandoned for less meandering routes or incorporated into an improved road along the same route.
Overall the White Earth Road ran approximately 85 miles from near Hackensack where it branched off of Brainerd-Leech Lake Trail, through Hubbard County to Osage, Ponsford and finally to the southwest shore of White Earth Lake in Becker County.
In Cass County the road originated about a mile south of Hackensack in Section 30 of Birch Lake Twp. (140N-30W). As the road cut westward through Hiram Twp. (140N-31W), it passed between Perch and Jackpine Lake, and then entered Hubbard County in section 24 of White Oak Twp. (140N-32W). Tending to the northwest it skirted the north side of Hay Lake before moving into Nevis Twp (140N-33W) where it crossed the outlet of the 8th Crow Wing Lake, then arched north and south through Sections 11 and 10 before meeting the south shore of Elbow Lake (now Belle Taine) in Section 16. The road followed the southshore Belle Taine until entering section 24 in Henrietta Twp (140N-34W). The surveyed route in Henrietta Twp. has not yet been found but it appears to have moved west by north, crossing south of Sweitzer Lake and entering section 13 in Todd Township (140N-35W). After crossing the land now used for the Headwaters Golf course and the Cone-Egloff forest (the NW quadrant of Section 13) the road met the Fish Hook Lake shore east of the outlet.
Original survey of 1871. Parcel in red purchased by W. J. Egloff in 1912. Hubbard County, Minnesota. NW 1/4, Sec 13, Twp 140N, Range 35W
I have not located any sure signs of the road, unless the rock cairn (or grave) west of the Egloff gate is one.
Rock Pile west of County 1 gate
The original plat shows the White Earth road entering the Egloff land 378’ north of the gate on County 1 and exiting roughly 161’ south of 2006 shoreline or 100’ south of the surveyor’s pin which is located ca. 61’ from the shore line on the west property line of Egloff Shores Lot #1. N.B. an iron pipe lies on this line 55’ south of the shoreline pin and 45’ north of the platted location of the White Earth Trail. I’ve almost convinced myself that I found ruts of the original road in this area. Probably not, but maybe.
In the vicinity of the White Earth Road just west of the Cone cabin.
Fording the Fish Hook river then was an easier task then than after 1881 when the water level was first raised by the dam in Park Rapids. In fact, the water level was so low during the original survey of 1871 that Mud Lake (now Fish Hook Bay) was originally platted as a “Willow Marsh”.
From Deane’s Point the road ran WSW through Todd Twp until it entered Osage Twp. roughly 100-200 yards north of S.R. 34 at the Becker-Hubbard County line. From that point it ran south of the S.R 34 until turning northwest and crossing S.R. 34 again about 2.5 miles west of the county line.
At Osage the road crossed the Straight River ¼ mile south of Straight Lake, then preceded northwesterly, parallel to the Shell River, and crossed into Smoky Hills Twp . From near Ponsford the road cut across the southwest corner of Pine Point Twp for about 1.3 miles, then crossed the outlet from Big Rush Lake and entered the White Earth Indian Reservation about where C.R. 129 turns west. From that point the Road followed the contemporary routes of C.R. 129 and 35 through Round Lake South Twp to Ice Cracking and Round Lakes, then C.R. 143 to Carmen Lake in Sugar Bush East Twp. At that point the White Earth Road diverged from the contemporary roads and ran directly northwest to Strawberry Lake in Sugar Bush West Twp, then on to the southwest shores of White Earth Lake in Maple Grove Twp.
The original survey maps showing the route of the White Earth road are available on line by simply clicking on “view the collection”, then zeroing in on the area of interest, e.g. T140R35 for Todd Township.
Egloffs, Cones, Kelseys and Millers 