10.a Petition to Council regarding renaming Halfbreed Lake to Sylvan Lake
Staff Report
Date of Meeting: February 21, 2017
To: City Council
From: Neil Soltis, Administrator
Re: Renaming existing lake to Sylvan Lake
Background: The City received correspondence from Washington County regarding a petition that
was received requesting that a lake identified as Halfbreed Lake in the DNR waters inventory be
officially renamed to its commonly used name of Sylvan Lake. A portion of the lake is in Scandia.
Issue: Should the City of Scandia support the official name change.
Proposal Details: See the attached information provided by Washington County. The County’s
public hearing on the petition to rename the lake will continue on March 14, 2017
Fiscal Impact: None – all references maintained by the City use the Sylvan Lake name.
Options:
1. Recommend that the County Board retain the historical and official name of the lake as
Halfbreed Lake
2. Recommend that the County Board officially rename the lake as Sylvan Lake.
3. Provide no comments to the County Board regarding the issue.
Recommendation: Option 2.
Washington
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Heims Lake
Second Lake
Halfbreed Lake
First Lake
Sea Lake
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Third Lake
School Lake Moody Lake
Nielsen Lake
Birch Lake
Clear Lake
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Twin Lake
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0 0.8 1.60.4 Miles
ÊLegend
City of WyomingCity of Forest LakeLakes TMDLComfort Lake Forest Lake Watershed District
Comfort Lake - Forest Lake Watershed District
http://www.presspubs.com/forest_lake/news/article_87040166-ea58-11e6-8aba-3bd7d45174d6.html
Forest Lake locals stir the waters at lake name hearing
Halfbreed Lake name under question
By Jackie Bussjaeger/Staff Writer Feb 3, 2017
STILLWATER — A public hearing to officially change the name of a small lake in Forest
Lake began at a meeting of the Washington County Board of Commissioners Jan. 24. A
petition signed by a minimum of 15 Forest Lake residents was submitted to the county
board requesting to rename a small lake off of Highway 97. The official name of the lake is
Halfbreed Lake, but it has been known as and referred to as Sylvan Lake for many
years—many residents, including Forest Lake Zoning Administrator Donovan Hart, were
unaware the lake even had another name.
At this time it is unknown for whom the lake was named, but Hart and other petitioners
believe it to be a reference to a person of mixed Native American heritage. Hart
spearheaded the name change process when he discovered that the Department of
Natural Resources and U.S. Geological Service had it officially recorded as Halfbreed.
After the Forest Lake City Council approved the suggested change, it was forwarded to
the county for approval.
However, early into the hearing, County Deputy Administrator Kevin Corbid revealed that
part of the lake is located within Scandia city limits. Since the change requires the
notification of the city’s mayor, and the city of Scandia had not been contacted about the
matter, a new date of March 14 was set to continue the hearing with input from Scandia
city officials.
During his research into the lake’s history, Hart sought more information from several
locals familiar with area history, such as Craig Moen, who lives in Hugo but grew up in
Forest Lake.
“What I do know is that what Elsie Vogel put in her ‘Reflections’ book; it wasn’t quite the
disparaging term 100 years ago that it is today,” Moen said. “According to Elsie, it was
named after a ‘halfbreed’ who lived there.”
Two Forest Lake residents who spoke at the hearing also referenced the local historical
text, “Reflections of Forest Lake” by Elsie Vogel. The book tells briefly of the Native
American presence in the Forest Lake area before white settlement.
The first speaker during public comment was Mike Welsh, who owns property on the lake
and spent many years vacationing there as a child.
“For the record, I oppose the name change for historical reasons,” he said. “The petition
states these people find the name offensive. But in the 1800s, the word ‘halfbreed’ was
used in government, literature and politics.” He provided several examples, even pointing
out that a political faction known as the Half-Breeds (in this case referring to their partial
beliefs in Republican values) sought civil reform and helped elect President James
Garfield in 1880.
Since most of the lakeside property is privately owned, Welsh said he did not understand
how changing the name would improve the “marketing” of the lake, since he does not
consider it a major draw for fishermen.
“I for one do not want to change history,” he said. “Yes, you have a right to free speech
and opinion and petition, but you do not have a right to change history, and I cannot see
the benefit in doing this.”
Sandra Moszer, who also lives near the lake, also spoke against the change.
“I do not consider the name of the lake offensive or derogatory,” she said. “There was a
time that calling a person a ‘halfbreed’ would have been considered offensive; personally, I
think it’s more offensive to the white man being intolerant ... at least the name of the lake
brings to mind that in early days, the Ojibwe Indians did live in this area.”
Currently, the Forest Lake zoning administrator and Pete Boulay of the Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources are working to unearth more historical details about the
naming of the lake. County Commissioner Gary Kriesel also questioned whether any local
Native American groups had been consulted about the change.
County Commissioner Ted Karwoski summed up the goals for the continuation of the
hearing, which include taking a closer look at the historical texts mentioned in the course
of the hearing, conducting additional research behind the name Sylvan, consulting
Scandia officials and reaching out to include Native American populations in the
conversation.
“The Native American contact that Commissioner Kriesel had asked about—I think it
would be excellent to make some additional contact there,” he said.
The research into the history of Halfbreed/Sylvan Lake is ongoing. If you would like to
share any information about the lake’s history, contact Jackie Bussjaeger at 651-407-1229
or lowdownnews@presspubs.com.
Note: An upcoming issue of the Lowdown will discuss this topic from a Metis (mixed Native
American and European heritage) point of view.