Inyan Bosndata - Style Two
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Living in Northfield with two small boys, questions about the Cannon River are inescapable. “Why is it called the Cannon River?” asks my oldest at age 6, probably hoping that the answer has something to do with gunpowder and large projectiles. His brother, not yet attuned to the wonders of artillery, asks “Are there fish in there?” As it turns out, both questions have answers rooted in the rich environmental and economic history of the Cannon River watershed.
First, the name. What we now call the Cannon River was first known as Inyan Bosndata by the Wahpekute people. The name means “standing rock” in English and refers to the white sandstone formation that also gives Castle Rock its name. The Dakota people used canoes for transportation throughout the watershed, and they often parked them near the river’s mouth, away from the swifter and busier waters of the Mississippi. When French explorers and fur traders arrived in the area, they began to call the river the Riviere aux Canots, or River of Canoes. To many English-speakers, the word “canot” apparently sounded like “cannon,” and by the mid-19th century, the river was being labeled as the Cannon River on maps. My wife, who does not have a degree in French literature, finds this much more understandable than I do. At any rate, “Cannon River” it was, and so it remains.
The short answer to my younger son’s question about fish is, of course, yes. There are fish in there, as the frequent presence of fishermen near Bridge Square attests. By one recent DNR count, there are 47 species in the
section of the river near Northfield, including sport fish like walleye, bluegill, pike, bass, and trout. Rice Creek is one of the area’s only naturally reproducing trout streams, and the DNR uses fish from it to stock other waterways. But the health of wildlife in the Cannon wasn’t always a given, and finding a balance between the creatures in the river and the people along it hasn’t always been easy. An anonymous poem as early as 1911 laments the state of the river and complains of rotting vegetation and garbage in the river. In 1958, things were so bad that a DNR memo flatly stated that the river near Faribault was uninhabitable for fish, and it wasn’t all that uncommon to see large numbers of dead and dying fish appear on the river’s surface and banks. Fortunately, that seems to have been the low point for local fish, and though the Cannon
still has its problems, commonsense approaches like not dumping raw sewage directly into the river have made a world of difference. In addition to fish, the river was once home to abundant mussels (in the 20s people remembered the river being “paved” with them), but they were almost completely wiped out by people harvesting mussel shells to make into buttons. It was apparently such a popular endeavor that the Northfield News published a piece in 1904 complaining about the smell from the many mussel corpses littering the riverbank, and by the 1940s mussel sightings had become a rarity. The good news is that mussels seem to be making something of a comeback as well, with more than a dozen species identified in recent surveys.
The Cannon River is full of life, and next time you’re in its neighborhood, take a moment to reflect on the river’s history and all that happens along the banks and in the water of the River of Canoes. If you look hard enough, you may even see a fish in there.
An annual clean up day occurs every September organized by the Cannon River Watershed Partnership, now known as Clean
River Partners, and sponsored by many local companies. Get a group together from your business, church, neighborhood or just sign up by yourself. Bring your family!
You can clean the river alongside many other members of the community by picking up trash along the paths, trails, or even by canoe. There are several sites in Northfield and surrounding communities.
Ever since I was little I've been picking up trash in my neighborhood, parks and rivers.
It's been important to me that nature have the best chance it can to thrive and grow naturally without things like plastic and glass bottles getting in the way. And who doesn't prefer a view of the woods without trash? Helping with the clean up day was a lot of hard work, but pulling the rusty barb wire fence out of the hillside and hauling bags of garbage to the dumpster sure makes a difference. Consider the steps you can take to keep the world around you looking good, for yourself, others and the critters in the woods.
Along the Cannon in the summer time look for demonstrations from farmers to craftsmen to artists to musical and theatrical performers. For family activities and child-friendly events, go to the website for the River Walk Market Fair for a listing of what to expect throughout the summer. Browse the photographic images on display as well as the ceramics, fused glass, jewelry, wood and fiber arts among others. Come to admire or come to shop this juried
fair and enjoy the day down by the river at Northfield's summer Riverwalk Market Fair. In 2010 a significant flooding event occurred in downtown Northfield. Following above average rainfall over the summer, heavy rains starting on September 22 led to 21 counties in southern Minnesota declared disaster areas. I remember looking out the window for three days as the rain kept coming. Soon came the calls for help as townspeople appeared to fill sandbags and support the businesses along the river. Water rushed over the banks and flooded lower level businesses like Froggy Bottoms Pub. It was weeks before cleanup could be completed but in true Northfield spirit, the pub staff soon sported shirts with the line "The water was this high."
Walking trails in the Arboretum were submerged and the public was told to stop swimming through the trails as floating debris posed a safety risk, not to mention smelling of fish afterwards.
