Maplewood State Park
Encyclopedia
Maplewood State Park is a Minnesota
state park near Pelican Rapids
. The park preserves a pre-contact habitation site that was occupied in two different periods (650-900 CE and 1450-1650 CE) in a forest/prairie transition zone
. Located in the Leaf Mountains, Maplewood encompasses 9,250 acres (36 km²) in Otter Tail County and is known for its hardwood trees including sugar maple
, basswood, American elm
, and oak
, which together provide a stunning display of fall colors each year.
It became a state park in 1965, and due to an archeological site
within the park, the Maplewood Site, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1978.
Jim Fletcher also is an artist, and he was chosen to paint a mural onto one of the walls in Pelican Rapids High School. The artist told a friend that the mural was a hint to where one of his villages was hidden. The mural is not visible to the public, for that part of the school is dangerous.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
state park near Pelican Rapids
Pelican Rapids, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,374 people, 884 households, and 558 families residing in the city. The population density was 905.8 people per square mile . There were 962 housing units at an average density of 367.0 per square mile...
. The park preserves a pre-contact habitation site that was occupied in two different periods (650-900 CE and 1450-1650 CE) in a forest/prairie transition zone
Ecotone
An ecotone is a transition area between two biomes but different patches of the landscape, such as forest and grassland. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local or regional...
. Located in the Leaf Mountains, Maplewood encompasses 9,250 acres (36 km²) in Otter Tail County and is known for its hardwood trees including sugar maple
Sugar Maple
Acer saccharum is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas...
, basswood, American elm
American Elm
Ulmus americana, generally known as the American Elm or, less commonly, as the White Elm or Water Elm, is a species native to eastern North America, occurring from Nova Scotia west to Alberta and Montana, and south to Florida and central Texas. The American elm is an extremely hardy tree that can...
, and oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, which together provide a stunning display of fall colors each year.
It became a state park in 1965, and due to an archeological site
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
within the park, the Maplewood Site, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1978.
Popular Culture
Jim Fletcher, the author of The Lore Adventure Trilogy, built several small villages with the help of both students of the Pelican Rapids High School, and other local people. Several of these villages are placed in Maplewood State Park. One is accessible by a hiking trail, while another is located inside one of the lakes. Those are two of the known locations, while there may be many others inside of Maplewood.Jim Fletcher also is an artist, and he was chosen to paint a mural onto one of the walls in Pelican Rapids High School. The artist told a friend that the mural was a hint to where one of his villages was hidden. The mural is not visible to the public, for that part of the school is dangerous.