3(a) Introduction and Community Character Sections

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INTRODUCTION INTENT This plaa is an update to the 2004 Comprehensive Plan.It was assembled to assist with the transition following the annexation of Sibley Townslup by the City of Pequot Ialces in 2002.This plan,like its predecessor,creates a umfied vision for the new City as well as a framework for achieving that vision over the neat decade. The City of Pequot Lakes is cammitted to planning for the future.Participants in the planni.ng II process se�k to build on past successes,learn from prior difficulties and use their colle�tive i knowledge to ensure that the people,businesses and organizations of Pequot Lakes are well- � positioned for cvntinued prosperity long into the future. BRIEF HISTORY � The Central Lakes Region is rich in lustory,havi.ng been inhabited by Native Americans for centuries i before French explorers settled in the area.Thirteen recorded prehistoric sites have been identified � near the Paul Bunyan Trasl alone.The Ojibwe aad Dakota.were present in the area until explorers � entered the region and logging and railroad industries took over. , Pequot first formed as a trading town along the I.eech Lake Trail,formerly a Native American and fur- � traders travel route. It grew as a logging town with the construction of the Northeru Pacific Ra7road, much like many ather small towns surrounding Bra.inerd. In 1892, Crow Wing County bonded itself for a railroad from Brainerd to the northern boundary of the state, and the railroad was canstsucted northwest from Gull Lake into Cass County. The pazuc of 1893 halted any changes,but by the latter part of 1894 efforts were made to re-route this railroad and carry the line almost directly north from Brainerd �� The railroad opened Pequot and Si`bley Township to logging, both of which experienced larg�scale clearing of their va.st pine stands from the 1890s to the 1920s. The establishment of a large sawmill near the Pequot train station brought more settlers to the area. Lake development neaz most train stations ocxurred during�is time, which marked the beginning of reside�ial growth and tourism in Pequot A passenger stage line ran three times a week between Brainerd and Lcech Lake; settlers and totuists most li.kely came in with this li.ne. Itt 1896, School District 41 formed and the Pequot Past Offce was establishment with F. M. Lawhead as gost master. The post office had originally been a Northern Pacific Railroad statian. On December 4, 1900,the Crow Wing County commissioners accepted a petition for organization as Sibley Township. Sibley was named from Lske Sibley,a name given by Nicollet on his map, published in 1843,in honor of Henry Hastings Sibley,for whom Sibley County was also named. The town of Pequot,located within Sbley Townslup,had be�n platted ni.ne months prior.Pequot had first been named for an early logger,but it was renamed by a postal official for a former tribe of Algonquian Indians in eastern Connecticut. Comprehensive Pla�update—February 2U13 4 � P a g e