Flandrau State Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Flandrau State Park |
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The Cottonwood River in Flandrau State Park
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 Flandrau State Park
Location in Minnesota
Flandrau State Park
Location in the United States
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| Location | Brown, Minnesota, United States |
| Area | 982 acres (397 ha) |
| Elevation | 853 ft (260 m) |
| Established | 1937 |
| Named for | Charles Eugene Flandrau |
| Governing body | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources |
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Flandrau State Park CCC/WPA/Rustic Style Historic Resources
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The beachhouse, with unique German architectural influences
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| Location | Brown County, Minnesota, Off Co. Hwy. 13 SE of New Ulm |
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| Nearest city | New Ulm, Minnesota |
| Area | 805 acres (326 ha) |
| Built | 1934–1942 |
| Architect | Edward W. Barber |
| Architectural style | National Park Service rustic |
| MPS | Minnesota State Park CCC/WPA/Rustic Style MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 89001658 |
| Added to NRHP | October 25, 1989 |
Flandrau State Park is a beautiful state park in Minnesota, United States. It sits along the Cottonwood River, right next to the city of New Ulm.
The park was first called Cottonwood River State Park. In 1945, it was renamed to honor Charles Eugene Flandrau. He was an important person in early Minnesota and led the defenses during the Battles of New Ulm in the Dakota War of 1862.
Flandrau State Park was created in the 1930s to help people find jobs during tough economic times. Workers built a dam to create a recreational lake. However, floods damaged the dam many times, and it was removed in 1995.
Workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) also built several buildings in the park. These buildings have a special "rustic" style. They were designed to look like the German buildings found in New Ulm, honoring the area's heritage. These historic buildings are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
During World War II, some of the park's buildings were used as Camp New Ulm. This camp housed German prisoners of war.
Contents
Exploring Flandrau State Park's Nature
What is the geography of Flandrau State Park?
Flandrau State Park is located in a small valley carved by the Cottonwood River. The river flows east through the park. You can see marshy areas and old river paths, called oxbow lakes, on the valley floor.
The valley walls are quite steep, rising about 150 to 200 feet (46 to 61 meters). The Cottonwood River joins the Minnesota River just 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of the park. The park's edges mostly follow the top of the valley.
Trees on the slopes help hide the nearby towns. The northern part of the park, including the campground, is actually inside New Ulm city limits. There are no bridges across the river within the park. This means the land on the south side of the river is harder to reach.
What is the geology of Flandrau State Park?
Flandrau State Park sits on top of ancient rocks like shale, sandstone, and conglomerate. These rocks formed 100 million years ago when the area was covered by a large inland sea.
The sandstone is white with orange bands from iron oxide and contains fossilized plants. The conglomerate rock has pebbles of granite that are 3,000 to 2,500 million years old!
On top of these old rocks is a layer of till, which is only a few thousand years old. This till was left behind by huge glaciers. In the park, this glacial debris is 100 to 200 feet (30 to 61 meters) thick. Many springs flow out from the bottom of these till slopes, especially on the west side of the park.
When the northern glaciers melted, a giant river called Glacial River Warren carved a very deep channel. The modern Minnesota River follows this same path, but it's much smaller now. The Cottonwood River, which is usually calm, drops into this deep valley near where it meets the Minnesota River. This is because the Cottonwood River has cut through the thick glacial till and into the older bedrock.
What plants grow in Flandrau State Park?
The plants in Flandrau State Park show what the Upper Minnesota River Country region used to look like. Even though the surrounding tallgrass prairie is gone, the forested river valley is still similar to how it was before European settlers arrived.
The valley floor has marshes and wet prairie areas. It also has bottomland hardwood forests with trees like willow, eastern cottonwood, American elm, silver maple, and green ash.
The steep valley walls have northern hardwood forests. Cooler, wetter slopes facing north have trees like sugar maple, basswood, and common hackberry. Drier, south-facing slopes have bur oak, eastern red cedar, and aspen. Some dry, sunny spots even have prairie grasses like big bluestem and indian grass.
Over time, human activity has changed the park's plant life. Without regular wildfires, the forests have become thicker. Many elm trees were lost to Dutch elm disease. The valley floor was once used for farming and then covered by a lake, so the forest there is relatively new.
What animals live in Flandrau State Park?
Flandrau State Park is an important safe place for local wildlife because it's surrounded by developed areas. About 25 types of mammals have been seen here. These include white-tailed deer, coyotes, gray foxes, raccoons, beavers, skunks, opossums, and minks.
More than 60 types of birds have been recorded in the park. Most of these are songbirds that are migrating through, rather than nesting there. You might see many warblers, flycatchers, vireos, and thrushes. The Cottonwood River has some game fish like northern pike and smallmouth bass, along with other types of fish.
The History of Flandrau State Park
How was Flandrau State Park created?
Evidence shows that Native Americans lived in the Cottonwood River valley thousands of years ago. When Europeans arrived in the 1600s, the Dakota people lived here. Settlers began moving into the valley in the 1830s. However, the valley floor was often flooded, so many people eventually left.
During the Great Depression, the government started projects to create jobs. The Cottonwood River valley was chosen for a new park because it was in a populated area without many other recreational spots or lakes. Also, the land was often flooded and needed help.
Minnesota bought the land in 1934. The first workers from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) arrived in September. They lived in tents while building bunkhouses and other camp buildings. These skilled workers quarried stone and built three park buildings: a beachhouse, a manager's house, and a garage.
In June 1935, a second group of workers from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) arrived. These less-skilled workers built the dam and its earthen walls. They also built a kitchen shelter, planted trees, and made trails. For the first year, these workers were World War I veterans. In 1936, younger unemployed men took over the CCC projects.
The dam was finished in 1937 after two years of work. It created a lake that was 209 acres (85 hectares) large. The WPA continued working until 1941, and the CCC until 1942. The WPA camp became a group center, and the CCC camp was removed.
The stone buildings built by the WPA are very unique. Architect Edward W. Barber designed them to fit the local environment and also to honor the strong German heritage of New Ulm. The buildings look like German architecture with steep roofs, dormers, and special stonework. The beachhouse is one of the largest buildings built during the New Deal era in Minnesota state parks.
What was Camp New Ulm?
During World War II, the empty group camp at Flandrau State Park was used to house German prisoners of war in the United States. Great Britain needed space for captured enemy soldiers. At the same time, many American workers were away fighting in the war. So, the U.S. set up camps to employ 450,000 prisoners in non-military jobs.
About 160 German prisoners arrived at Camp New Ulm in June 1944. Most were from the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) and were 18–25 years old. Twelve U.S. Army guards watched over them.
The prisoners mostly worked at a cannery in nearby Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. After harvest season, they worked at brick and tile factories and a poultry plant. Some small groups worked on local farms without guards. The prisoners spent winters at a main camp in Iowa and returned in spring 1945. That year, they helped pack the largest pea crop ever in Sleepy Eye.
Camp New Ulm was near a town with many German-speaking people. This was helpful for the prisoners. Many locals still spoke German and were kind to the prisoners. German-speaking church leaders held services and collected books for them. Even though guards warned people not to talk to prisoners, some locals shared food and drinks. Young women even waded across the river at night to talk to them. Prisoners who worked on farms often received home-cooked meals.
One prisoner, Helmut Lichtenberg, became friends with a farm family. He secretly left camp to spend a weekend with them. When the family drove him back to camp, they were caught. Lichtenberg was punished, and the Americans were fined. This was the only known escape attempt at the camp.
For fun, the prisoners had a clubhouse with a fireplace and library. They also had a camp store, a sports field, and a workshop where they made furniture. They could swim and fish in part of Cottonwood Lake. They also had newspapers, radios, and weekly movies. Some prisoners played musical instruments, and locals would come to listen to Sunday concerts.
Camp New Ulm closed in December 1945. All the prisoners eventually returned to Germany. One former prisoner later moved to the United States. The camp buildings are still used today as the park's group center. It's one of the few World War II prisoner of war camps in the U.S. that is still maintained. Visitors can ask at the park office to see the grounds when the camp is not in use.
Why was the park renamed and the dam removed?
By World War II, people wanted to rename the park after Charles Flandrau (1828–1903). He was a lawyer, an important official for Native American affairs, and a statesman. Flandrau served on the supreme court and led the defense of New Ulm during the Dakota War of 1862. The park's name was changed in March 1945.
Two years later, in 1947, a flood badly damaged the Cottonwood Lake Dam. It was rebuilt, but floods damaged it again in 1965 and 1969. After the 1969 flood, the state decided not to rebuild the dam. Studies showed that a new dam would not stop floods effectively. The lake basin was too small, and farming changes had made flooding worse. A new dam would also not be good for making electricity and the lake would get too much dirt and have poor water quality.
The dam was finally removed in 1995. The Cottonwood River now flows freely through the park again. An interpretive sign in the park says, "the dam that took almost 200 men nearly two years to build was demolished by four men and heavy equipment in five months."
Fun Things to Do at Flandrau State Park
Flandrau State Park has 8 miles (13 km) of trails for hiking, walking, and running. Many trails connect to city streets, so many people walk into the park. In winter, 6 miles (9.7 km) of trails are prepared for cross-country skiing, and 2 miles (3.2 km) are for snowshoeing.
The park has three campgrounds with 92 sites in total. 34 of these sites have electricity. There are also three private walk-in sites. You can rent two camper cabins or the historic group center, which can sleep up to 110 people in eight bunkhouses.
A popular spot for day visitors is the unique sand-bottomed, chlorinated swimming pool. It's next to the historic beachhouse and a picnic area. The picnic area has a playground, volleyball and horseshoes areas, and a shelter you can reserve.
Most fishing happens at the eastern end of the Cottonwood River, where it's easiest to reach the riverbank.
Flandrau State Park is close to other interesting places. These include Nehls City Park, the New Ulm Country Club, and the August Schell Brewing Company. The Hermann Heights Monument and Martin Luther College are also very close to the park entrance.
