Other projects of the Society


Environmental

* The Old Wadena Society is also in the formative stages of determining the route of the Red River Ox Cart Trail through Wadena County and marking the trail along county and township road right of ways. This was done approximately 40 years ago but the signs have mostly disappeared. Anyone with information on the ox cart trails route should contact members of the OWS.

* The Old Wadena Park bog walk – with educational learning stations on wetlands animal and plant life.

* Bird identification tours of Old Wadena Park in the spring and fall seasons.

* Interpretive signs for trees and shrubs of the Old Wadena Park.

Historical

* Historical interpretations of Old Wadena are presented to area students annually during Conservation Days at the Old Wadena Park.

* Historical interpretations are given during the annual folklife fesitval and rendezvous.

Archaeological

* The Society sponsors talks and interpretations of the area by local archaeologists. Visit the Old Wadena Society Blog for information about the Archaeological presentation made at the Society’s April, 2007 annual meeting.

Educational

* The Society sponsors courses in the folk and fine arts in collaboration with the Staples-Motley School’s Community Education Program. These arts are also showcased at the annual rendezvous and folklife festival.

* Historical interpretations are given during the annual folklife fesitval and rendezvous.

* Interpretive signs for trees and shrubs of the Old Wadena Park.

Welcome to Old Wadena

The Old Wadena Society sponsors the annual Old Wadena Rendezvous and Folklife Festival every August in the Old Wadena Park as part of its mission to share information about the natural environment and history of this area of north-central Minnesota. The park is situated on the banks of the Crow Wing River, one of the best canoe rivers in Minnesota. The festival showcases two days of great acoustic music, storytelling for all, Anishinaabe dance and drum, Rendezvouers demonstrating 1840s skills and living coniditions, and artists and artisans displaying their work. In addition the Society carries out other educational and interpretive work about the environment and history of the region.

Our location

A map and directions to Old Wadena County Historic Park will help you get to the park. Its location on the Crow Wing River between the Crow Wing's confluence with the Partridge and the Leaf Rivers in north-central Minnesota was an important hunting and trapping area for Indians and later for the French. Today the park is the centerpiece to a string of parks with campsites along the Crow Wing River in Wadena County. The Park is north and west of Staples and north and east of the city of Wadena in Wadena County.