About
The Division of Pine City Township created Pokegama Township on January 7th, 1896. Pokegama in Ojibwe means "one land jutting off of another" and is also the name of a large lake with an uneven shoreline in the township. Some of the earliest activities by settlers in the state revolved around trading posts built by fur traders on Lake Pokegama. In 1836, a mission and school were established on the east side of the lake presided over by Presbyterian Minister Frederick Ayer. On May 24th, 1841, Dakota Indians attacked the Ojibwe settlement at the mission. Scared by the attack, the Ojibwe began avoiding the mission and soon the missionaries left. When the US Government moved the Indians, the mission was abandoned.
According to local residents, the first road in the township area was from Sunrise Village in Chisago County to Pokegama Farm. This road closely followed the present day route of County Road 7. Lake Pokegama flows into the Snake River as it courses along the southern board of the township on its way to the St. Croix River. White pine logged in the township was floated down the Snake River to sawmills on the St. Croix River. Travelers arriving in Pine City by rail on the Northern Pacific Railroad, boarded steamers for the trip up the Snake River to Lake Pokegama. Over 100 years ago, popular resorts on Lake Pokegama entertained vacationers from Duluth to Twin Cities and elsewhere. Catering to the well-to-do and fashionable, resorts hired well-known orchestras to perform in their ballrooms. One such resort was named Tuxedo Inn and a sandbar near its location retains the name of Tuxedo Bar.
