You are looking at the Root River. (Actually, the South Branch of the Root River). Native Americans no doubt traveled on it and fished in it. Hundreds of years later, energy from its strong current, harnessed by a handcrafted stone arch dam, fueled grain mills that created the first jobs in the brand-new town of Lanesboro. What the Root River has meant to this community for more than 150 years—transportation, energy, recreation, never mind its transcendent, tranquil beauty—can’t be overestimated.

This river gets its name from many branches that feed into it. The South Branch begins as a spring-fed trickle the size of an irrigation ditch south of Grand Meadow. Moving east it merges with additional small springs, mysteriously disappears for a bit in an underground maze of caves and rock formations, then re-emerges thirty miles later near Forestville. This river, at least at its beginning, plays a little hide-and-seek.

The Root hugs Lanesboro’s northern edge with gentle-to-moderate force depending on rainfall amounts. About 40 miles away it flows into the Mississippi River. The River has flooded here many times, a few substantial. The “Great Flood of 1876” completely covered Sylvan Park. The 1890 flood swept away the Park School House. An earthen dike was finally placed between river and roadway making floods much less frequent and springtime in Lanesboro more predictable.

The Root’s natural course saw it meander into what is now Sylvan Park, making a trip from downtown to the southern neighborhood called Brooklyn a tedious, bridge-filled adventure. In 1874, in typical Lanesboro inspiration, workers re-directed its flow and today it parallels Parkway Avenue.

The Root River flows through the heart of Lanesboro, providing popular recreation—fishing, canoeing, kayaking and tubing—and a natural beauty attracting thousands of visitors each year. A river definitely runs through it—to everyone’s delight.