285 - Stump Lake

Originally formed by glaciation, Stump Lake, as we know it today, began nearly 500 years ago when a great flood occurred in the valley of Wamduska Township. The valley was filled with heavy stands of trees, which were killed in the flooding. When the settlers first arrived, they were greeted by this large, fresh-water lake.

Stump Lake has experienced much change since the pioneer days. In the 1930s, the western part of the lake went dry and remained that way for years. With this came great clouds of alkali dust blowing off the lake bottom, creating a saltier lake. The 40s and 50s brought a bit more water, though the west end would typically dry up again in the fall. The lake continued to drop and very low levels were reported in the 70s and 80s. Since then, the lake has been quite high and continues to rise, largely in part to Devils Lake, the monster lake that has begun overflowing into it.

During the Great Depression and drought of the thirties, most of the dead trees of the lake bottom were sawed up for firewood and fence posts. Because it was very hard oak and ash, it burned with a great deal of heat. As the lake dried, more dead wood was left high and dry, giving homesteaders a chance to haul timber from the shores, providing them with fuel for decades. In 1911, pioneer Alf Eastgate sent a picture to the State Historical Society depicting the dead timber on the shore of Stump Lake. Accompanying the photograph was a note that read, “The water was full of wood, and for thirty years, to my personal knowledge, settlers have been taking wood each year and the end is far from sight.”

The prevalence of wood quite possibly gave Stump Lake its name, though the exact name this body of water had to Native Americans is unclear. Stump Lake has also been called Wamduska, a Dakota name meaning serpent. The Dakota, who lived in the region say that there’s an entity that inhabits Stump Lake, a great serpent they called Wamduska. The Dakota may have also referred to the lake as the Lake of the Serpents, not exactly an inviting name that makes you want to take a dip during the summer months. The Sioux may have used another name for the lake, SHEE-ko, meaning the place of stumps in their language.

Today, with rising water levels, Stump Lake attracts fishermen looking to catch walleye, perch, and northern pike. Who knows, they may even land a stump or hook into the serpent?