It was hot. There was no doubt about that. The summer of 2022 had only just begun. A friend of mine planned for the two of us to head out to a few of McLeod County’s parks for some exploratory hikes in hopes that a little history might present itself. Unfortunately, the weather of spring and early summer wasn’t going to cooperate for such a history quest. When the day finally came, it just happened to be the hottest day of the summer to that point, and it quickly made a hike in the park feel more like a trek through the jungle.
The location was Stahl’s Park, a little county park nestled between Stahl Lake and French Lake, just north of Hutchinson. Upon entering the park, it was apparent that some history certainly existed there. Surrounded by trees, the park gave off the feeling of being back in McLeod County’s famed, and long extinct, “Big Woods.” An old red building stood out in the forefront, and off to the east was a short, lone silo — a ghost of a farm site that once stood proud. We took our hike, I sweated profusely, and then went back to the museum to do a little digging in hopes of finding a little history. I had no idea of the treasure I’d find.
The park was named after a man named Charles Stahl, a settler who made the first claim in the area just north of County Road 73, across from the park. Stahl was one of the first settlers to come to McLeod County. He and his wife built a farm and lived on the land for many years. Interestingly, lakes often bore the name of the folks who settled near them, and thus the lake north of County Road 73 came to be called Stahl Lake. Opposite the lake is French Lake which is named after a man named French who lived along its shores.
Stahl may have been the first settler to make a claim near the lake, but he certainly was not the first person to make use of the land. Taoyateduta, better known as Little Crow, frequented the area near the lake and made use of it by setting up temporary camps there. In fact, Herman Popp, another early settler on the lake, knew Little Crow and is said to have smoked with him on occasion.
The park, and the lakes that border it, would have looked far different in those days. There were no vast farm fields, almost no people in the area, and there was no County Road 73 — the only known trail was a simple cartway that went from the Stahl cabin to Hutchinson.
In summer of 1862, when Dakota war parties began raiding homes and killing settlers, the few residents in the area fled. One of them, Charles Stahl, enlisted in the Hutchinson Home Guard and fought in the battle of Hutchinson. He and his family lived in the stockade for the duration of the war.
Settlers came and went through the late 1800s; those who stayed built homes, barns, and roads near the park. In the 1890s, Herman Krueger owned land where the northwest corner of the park is in 2022. Another family, the Fritze family lived where the park is located now. For a time, Mrs. Fritze allowed neighbors to garden on the land, and it’s said that gardeners occasionally found stone arrowheads and other ancient Native American tools in the area, suggesting that the site was once populated with people from the Middle Woodland period that lasted from 100 BC-500 AD.
There’s no doubt that Stahl’s Park is loaded with history. From Little Crow to Charles Stahl, the area has surely seen its fair share of famous historic figures. It begs the question, however, what other places in McLeod County are filled with hidden history, and what kind of treasures can be unearthed there? I guess for that, I’ll have to go on yet another history quest.
— Special thanks to Barb Peterson and all her hard work in collecting data on Stahl’s Park and the surrounding area.
Brian Haines is executive director of the McLeod County Historical Society and Museum, 380 School Road N.W., Hutchinson. The museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday, 1-4 p.m. Saturday and by appointment. Admission is free. For more information, call the museum at 320-587-2109.
