On this date in Minnesota history: July 13

July 13, 1832 - “[Henry Rowe] Schoolcraft was able to do what had eluded others in finding the source of the Mississippi beyond Lake Bemidji. This lake he named ‘Itasca’ on [this date], at the suggestion of Reverend Boutwell, from the Latin words for ‘true head,’ veritas caput. When joined together, and with the last and first syllables removed, those two Latin words formed ‘Itasca.’”

Carroll, Francis M.; Crossroads in Time; The Carlton County Historical Society (Cloquet, Minn., 1987); p. 30.

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
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