5 things you might not know about Lake Minnetonka's past

MPR News features Eric Dregni's book By the Waters of Minnetonka and tells us 5 things you might not know about Lake Minnetonka's past.

Dregni_By coverLake Minnetonka is known as a playground for the well-to-do and a drive around the lake or a boat trip across it reveals the luxury homes that exemplify that image. But how did it get so?

Eric Dregni documents the lake's history in a new book called "By the Waters of Minnetonka." He joined The Daily Circuit to discuss his book.

1. After the Civil War, some of the biggest hotels in the country, including Hotel Lafayette and Hotel St. Louis, were on Lake Minnetonka. Southerners came up to the lake for the summer to escape the heat. When the Hotel St. Louis opened in 1880, it boasted 200 rooms and could accommodate 400 guests at once. Double-decker trolleys traveled from Minneapolis to Excelsior from 1906 to 1907, bringing day-trippers from the city. Today, there are no hotels on the lake.

Continue the list here. 

Published in: MPR News