Battle Lake, MN

Battle Lake sits on the western shore of West Battle Lake, with Silver Lake and Glendalough State Park shaping the edges of town. The city began as a railroad-and-farm trade center: it was platted in 1881, incorporated in 1891, and Highway 78 now carries the main street past grain elevators and early buildings. Its most distinctive landmark is the 18-room Prospect House, built by Civil War veteran James Allison Cap Colehour in 1882, remodeled in 1929, and now a museum with his Civil War collection. A short distance north, Glendalough connects Battle Lake to an old hunting estate, a non-motorized Heritage Fishery, and trails through woods, wetlands, and prairie. Education, health care, restaurants, and retail now make up the town's working base, with the lake and historic core close together.