Area History

One unfamiliar with the lake navigating it by boat can quickly deduce the name must be based upon the many wrong turns one can make trying to find their way from end to end.  However the name likely reaches much farther back to those not trying to get across it, but get around it. 

According to Minnesota Geographical Names: Their Origin and Historical Significance  the lake was named Mantrap because "its many bays and peninsulas, entrapped and baffled travelers through this wooded country in their endeavors to pass by it or around it."

Help us with content!

A new effort to capture and retain Big Mantrap Lake area history was started in August 2018.  Board members Rich Halvorsen and Jim Zawacki are actively seeking any photos, stories, memorabilia, anything Mantrap related!  

If you have anything you can share please contact us.  Photos can be scanned and returned.  Stories would be great to capture and any other items photographed or cataloged to help tell the stories of our families and friends throughout the years.

Not just the lake but the area

The lake itself being the primary goal, there is also a lot of history in the logging around us, the camps nearby, Itasca, and the many towns of Dorset, Park Rapids, Nevis, Emmaville, just to name a few.

Any history is history!

There is no limit to what qualifies.  It doesn't have to be a century, or even fifty years old!  Anything that tells a story.

As we begin to gather more and more we will share it here.  Who knows how big the collection will grow!