Mountain Lake Township, Cottonwood County, Minnesota
| Mountain Lake Township | |
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| Township | |
A farm in Mountain Lake Township
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 Mountain Lake Township
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| Coordinates: 43°53′53″N 94°55′47″W / 43.89806°N 94.92972°WCoordinates: 43°53′53″N 94°55′47″W / 43.89806°N 94.92972°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Minnesota |
| County | Cottonwood |
| Area | |
| • Total | 35.8 sq mi (92.6 km2) |
| • Land | 35.7 sq mi (92.5 km2) |
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,316 ft (401 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 384 |
| • Density | 10.73/sq mi (4.14/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 56159 |
| Area code(s) | 507 |
| FIPS code | 27-44584 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0665055 |
Mountain Lake Township is a township located in Cottonwood County, Minnesota, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population was 384. The township was organized in 1871.
Mountain Lake Township has a total area of 35.8 square miles (93 km2), of which 35.7 square miles (92 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2), or 0.17%, is water.
It derives its name from the (now drained) lake of the same name which existed within its borders. Otherwise, there are several small creeks flowing in the township. Except for the extreme southern portion of the town of Mountain Lake, which is primarily located in Midway township, there are no incorporated towns within the township. An early historical source describes the land within its borders thus, "It is excellent land and produces immense crops of all grains and grasses common to this latitude."
Mountain Lake Township was formally organized on May 6, 1871, at a meeting in the home of A. A. Soule. (The village of the same name, which encompasses a small part of its northern boundary, was platted on May 25, 1872.) It is a full thirty-six section township, located directly south of Midway township, west of the Watonwan county line, north of Jackson county, and directly east of Lakewood township.
The name "Mountain Lake" itself is attributed to the township's earliest non-Indian inhabitant, William Mason. As told on the city's (of the same name) website, “the first white settler to the area, William Mason, found a shallow 900-acre lake with three islands. The two smaller islands just broke the water's surface. The third much larger, higher island looked to Mason like a mountain rising from the lake. He named the lake Mountain Lake and the island Mountain Island.” The township was named from this lake which contained the prominent island.
Demand for tillable farmland and construction advances led to the lake's draining in the 1905–06 timeframe. The original lake's largest island – now a tree-covered hill amidst the surrounding farmland – has become a county park, which since 1973 been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Archeological evidence unearthed in a 1976 dig revealed remnants of a Fox Indian inhabitation from what could be as early as 500 B.C., making the former island's location within the township the oldest human habitation yet to be discovered in the state of Minnesota.
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