Lake Waconia off MN 5, Waconia, Minnesota. County/parish: Carver.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places August 11, 1976. NRIS 76001048.
40 contributing buildings. 1 contributing site.Also known as:
Coney Island of the West is an island in Lake Waconia in the U.S. state of Minnesota that was developed into a summer resort with its heyday from the 1880s to the 1920s. It continued operating up to 1960. The 31-acre (13 ha) island is part of Waconia Township just .5 miles (0.80 km) off the shore from the city of Waconia. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 for its local significance in the themes of commerce and entertainment/recreation. The island site, with its ruins of hotels, cottages, and parks, was nominated for being one of Minnesota's most popular early resorts, and an early expression of the trend of urban dwellers journeying to Minnesota's lakes and parks for recreation. Lambert Naegele (an immigrant from Germany who published German language newspapers), Reinhold Zeglin (also an immigrant from Germany), and Emile Amblard (originally from France) developed resort buildings and attractions on the island. The best preserved building from this era, however, is the Emile Amblard Guest House on the mainland.
(read more...)National Park Service documentation: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93201450