Bald Eagle

• The first settlers came in the mid-1800s and most were French, English or German. One of the early settlers worked for the Minnesota Pioneer and promoted the lake in that newspaper.

• Two rail lines intersected at the Bald Eagle train depot, making it a high-traffic station. Bald Eagle area hotels used to send buses down to the White Bear Lake station to compete with the White Bear hotels for customers.

• Bald Eagle Island has been known by a number of names over the years, including Boy Island because it once was used for a boys’ summer camp.

• The idea of augmenting a low White Bear Lake isn’t a new one. In 1902 there was talk of diverting water from Bald Eagle Lake, Pine Tree Lake or the Mississippi. The Bald Eagle Lake Improvement Association opposed the idea.