History of Lake Sylvia
Presentation to the Annandale History Club
November 5, 2007
Jim Stark 

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Lake Sylvia in Wright County, Minnesota, is actually two lakes, east and west, connected by a channel on the north side (called the narrows). The surface area of the West Lake is 1,012 acres and the East Lake is 747 acres.  Early surveyors named the lakes Twin Lakes.  The East Lake became known as Sylvia.  Hanford L. Gordon purchased 78 acres on the north shore of the West Lake in 1865.  It is said that he named the lake for his wife, Sylvia.  The West Lake remained Twin Lake until 2006, when the lake names were officially changed to West Lake Sylvia and East Lake Sylvia, which is what everyone called them all along.  Note:  The 1874 Wright County map labels the West Lake as Silvia (sic). 

In 2007, Jim Stark, longtime resident of Lake Sylvia, edited a new 203-page Lake Sylvia history book entitled Remembering Lake Sylvia.  The Greater Lake Sylvia Association (GLSA) was started in 1974.   The idea of recording lake history was suggested at a GLSA meeting. The first edition of Lake Sylvia History was published by Barb Ostlund in 1994, and stories and photographs from that book have been reprinted in the new version.  The authors of the book are the people who live on or near Lake Sylvia, who contributed their memories or interviewed and recorded the memories of other Lake Sylvia residents and area people.  Many of the old-timers who contributed stories are no longer living, so there is a sense of gratitude that their stories are preserved. 

In addition, Jim Stark collected research from numerous sources including the Wright County Historical Society, Cokato Museum, Minnesota Historical Society, and the History of Wright County,  Vol. I and II published in 1915 (copies of these history books are sold at the Wright County Historical Society in Buffalo).  Jim Stark also talked to many people.  He said, "I had no idea the delightful people I would meet, the great stories I would hear, and the fun I would have, in putting together the book on Lake Sylvia."

There are 11 chapters in Remembering Lake Sylvia.

1. The Lake

2. Before the White Man

3. Early Settlement        

4. Maps  

5. The Great Depression

6. The Resort Years

7. Camps, Retreat and Conference Centers

8. Memories of the Lake

9. The Loons

10. Herring Netting on Lake Sylvia

11. Greater Lake Sylvia Association

There are 207 photos in the book, many of them in color.  There are five maps of the lake and surrounding area (1879, 1900, 1915 and 1931 Southside plat maps) and a map of the Greater Lake Sylvia Area.  Note:  The southern tip of the West Lake is located in French Lake Township. There is also a map of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase Territory.  Wright County was included in the Louisana Purchase.  Stan Tekiela, naturalist, wildlife columnist and photographer, contributed three loon photos taken at Lake Sylvia, including the cover photo.

Jim Stark was delighted to have the opportunity to tour the former 948 acre, 1908 farm known as The Sylvan Farm, Sutton Farm or Lake Sylvia Ranch.  The current owner bought 40 acres of this farm in 1973.  He provided photos of the once grand mansion that burned to the ground March 13, 1981.  Jim Stark photographed the surviving buildings of the original 14 buildings on the property.

There were at least 11 resorts at various times on Lake Sylvia.  Resorts on the West Lake were Bryant's Resort (1900 map), Jackpot Resort (1900 map), West Cottages, Sylvia Cottages, Wulleiinda Lodge, Cozy Comfort Resort, and Bridal Beach Resort.  Resorts on the East Lake were Rankin's Bungalow Beach, Sylvia Cedars, Pebble Beach, and Kingsted's Idle Hour Resort.  The Resorts were all sold for private lakeshore development and now there are no resorts on Lake Sylvia.  There are currently about 530-plus private dwellings on the lake.

About 1900, three Cokato businessmen, Henry C. Bull, C. R. Peterson, and Frank Swanson purchased 200 acres (most of the Lake Sylvia Peninsula) from the railroad for hunting land. Each man built his own cabin between 1902-1904.  In Remembering Lake Sylvia, Stan Bull tells a very interesting historical account of the land owned by his great-uncle, H. C. Bull, and Bull's fellow bankers and friends, Peterson and Swanson.

There are so many good stories in the book including many contributed by Calvin Nordberg, whose family farmed on the north side of the East Lake for generations.  There are also many stories by the Rudolph family who have owned property on the Lake Sylvia Peninsula since 1918.                

Jim Stark and Barb Ostlund welcome additional stories and photographs of historical value pertaining to Lake Sylvia.  

Remembering Lake Sylvia can be purchased from Jim Stark, Barb Ostlund or Lantto's Store in French Lake (320-274-8495).  All proceeds from the sale of this book go to the Greater Lake Sylvia Association (www.lakesylvia.org) for a fund to treat the lake in the event of an infestation of Eurasion water milfoil and to control Curlyleaf pondweed.