Folks Used To Flock To This Tiny Minnesota Town To Experience Its Healing Mineral Waters
By Trent Jonas|Published January 11, 2023
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Trent Jonas
Author
Trent Jonas came to Minnesota to attend college - and never left. He's a Twin Cities-based writer with a BA in English and a MFA in creative writing, a Minnesota Master Naturalist, and the proud father of two adult children. With more than a decade of freelance writing experience under his belt, Trent is often out exploring his favorite topics: Minnesota's woods, lakes, and trails. Rhubarb pie is his weakness, so discovering new diners is also a passion.
Mineral springs in Minnesota drew many to the small city of Owatonna at the end of the 19th century – all thanks to a legend about a Native American “princess” that is, quite likely, untrue. The site is now the city’s Mineral Springs Park.
The city of Owatonna purports to be named for a Native “princess,” the daughter of Chief Wabena, who came to the area after hearing about the healing properties of a spring.
The spring is said to have been called "Minnewaucan," or "healing waters," in the Dakota language - a name ascribed to several other springs in southern Minnesota.
Owatonna is said to have been cured of an illness after drinking from the waters of the spring, which emerges from the bank of what is now Maple Creek at Mineral Springs Park.
Most likely, however, the name "Owatonna" probably refers to the Dakota name for the main river in the area - "Ouitunya" - which was in use for hundreds of years before colonizers arrived.
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Capitalizing on (if not having invented) this legend, profiteers turned the area into a resort in the late 19th century, attracting visitors from across the region.
Water from the spring was declared similar to that of the "Vichy Spring" in France, and the Owatonna Mineral Springs Company bottled it and sold it across the country.
Despite the dubious nature of the legend surrounding the park and its namesake spring, today it is a beautiful place to visit and for reflection as you hike, sit and gaze upon Maple Creek, or enjoy a cool sip of water from the spring.
