 SteamboatMinnehaha in Excelsior, Minnesota | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Minnehaha |
| Owner |
|
| Route | Lake Minnetonka |
| Builder | Twin City Rapid Transit Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Launched |
|
| In service |
|
| Homeport | Excelsior, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Identification | MN 1906 GF |
| Status | Temporarily out of service |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | TCRT Express Boat |
| Displacement | 55 short tons (49.9 t) |
| Length | 70 ft (21.3 m) |
| Beam | 14 ft 10 in (4.5 m) |
| Draft | 5 ft 7.5 in (1.7 m) |
| Decks | 2 |
| Installed power | 127 hp (94.7 kW)[1] |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 10knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Capacity | 101 persons[1] |
| Crew | 3 (Pilot, Purser, Engineer)[1] |
Minnehaha (steamboat) | |
   | |
| Location | 140 George Street, Excelsior, Minnesota |
| Coordinates | 44°54′11″N93°34′28″W / 44.90306°N 93.57444°W /44.90306; -93.57444 |
| Built | 1906 |
| NRHP reference No. | 100007073 |
| Added to NRHP | October 25, 2021 |
Minnehaha is asteam-poweredexcursion vessel onLake Minnetonka in the U.S. state ofMinnesota. The vessel was originally in service between 1906 and 1926. After beingscuttled in 1926,Minnehaha was raised from the bottom of Lake Minnetonka in 1980, restored, and returned to active service in 1996.[2] The vessel operated uninterrupted on Lake Minnetonka until 2019. It is currently stored in a maintenance facility in the town ofExcelsior.[3]
Minnehaha was built by theTwin City Rapid Transit Company (TCRT) in 1906 and provided fast and reliable transportation for the residents ofLake Minnetonka during much of the early twentieth century.[4] She ran alongside five identical sister vessels namedComo,Harriet,Hopkins,Stillwater, andWhite Bear.[5] TCRT had commissionedboat builder Royal C. Moore to design these "Express Boats" in 1905. Each were 70 feet (21 m) long, 14 feet 10 inches (5 m) wide, drew 5 feet 7 inches (2 m) of water, and were powered by a single coal-firedboiler andtriple-expansion steam engine. The sleek,launch-style hull of the craft made the boats exceptionally stable and efficient as they cut through the water at a speed of approximately 12 miles per hour (19 km/h).[1] The boats were designed inWayzata and assembled at TCRT'sstreetcar shops in southMinneapolis.[6]
Express Boat service first began on May 25, 1906, fromMinnetonka Beach. Later that year a streetcar transfer terminal was completed in Excelsior, and all routes (four in total) embarked and disembarked from there. The primary function assigned to the Express Boats was to provide fast and reliable transportation for the seasonal residents of Lake Minnetonka who commuted to work in theMinneapolis–Saint Paul area. The boats stopped at 26 designated landings around the lake. They were designed to closely resemble TCRT's streetcars from the details of their interiors to the yellow and red paint scheme of their exteriors. Because of their appearance and the fact that they were named after popular TCRT streetcar stops, they were nicknamed the "streetcar boats."[4][6]
The streetcar boats proved to be popular and economically successful for many years. A seventh vessel namedExcelsior was added to the fleet in 1915 because of high ridership.[4] However, ridership plummeted when roads were improved around Lake Minnetonka in the early 1920s. TCRT made cuts to steamboat service after 1921 and discontinued all steamboat service on Lake Minnetonka in 1926.[6] Three of the streetcar boats werescuttled that summer, includingMinnehaha. Three others were scrapped. One of the vessels, theHopkins, was sold to a private entity and used as an excursion boat until 1949, when it was also scuttled.[6]
In 1979, a diver named Jerry Provost located the wreck ofMinnehaha on the bottom of Lake Minnetonka. One year later, Provost and his associates raisedMinnehaha to the surface with the intent of restoring her as a lakeside attraction. However, due to litigation concerning ownership,Minnehaha remained indry dock for 10 subsequent years. In 1990, title of the vessel was transferred to the Steamboat Division of theMinnesota Transportation Museum and an effort to restore her to operational status soon began.[6]Minnehaha finally returned to passenger service on May 25, 1996, and operated on Lake Minnetonka as anexcursion vessel until 2019.[6]
In 2004, ownership of the vessel was transferred to the newly-formed Museum of Lake Minnetonka.[7] At the end of the 2019 season, it was announced thatMinnehaha had lost access to her launch site and that the 2020 season would be canceled.[8] She was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 2021.[3] Since 2023,Minnehaha has been owned by the Lake Minnetonka Historical Society (LMHS). According to the society's website, LMHS is committed to returningMinnehaha to active operation on Lake Minnetonka.[9]
