Visitors encounter Itasca's natural and cultural history through interpretive displays at new Headwaters Center. (2005-08-25)

more information on the new Mary Gibbs Center.

The Headwaters of the Mississippi River is the most-visited attraction in Itasca State Park according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

On Sept. 10, the park will dedicate a brand new facility that not only showcases the history of the headwaters through displays and exhibits, it also provides a physical gateway to the spot where the Mississippi River begins its long journey to the Gulf of Mexico.

EXHIBITS AND DISPLAYS BRING HISTORY TO LIFE

The 6,144-square foot center area includes a building that houses a gift shop, restaurant and restrooms. The building and sheltered outdoor plaza area include more than 2,000-square feet, with more than 40 interpretive panels focusing on a variety of topics. Since the majority of the exhibits are outside, information about the headwaters and Minnesota history will be accessible to the public year-round.

Two of the interpretive panels represent Mary Gibbs: one tells of her time as park commissioner, comparing her life with that of other women of the era, and the other relates Mary's life after Itasca, when she married and became a mother.

Itasca State Park Naturalist Connie Cox speaks admiringly of Mary, saying "Back when she was commissioner, women didn't hold similar positions of power and authority. After Mary left, no woman managed a Minnesota state park again until the 1980s."

Other topics displayed on the interpretive panels include early tourism, which dates to the mid-1880s, when wilderness adventurers began to seek out the newly proclaimed headwaters. Later, visitors could ride the train to Park Rapids or Bemidji and proceed to the park by wagon or automobile and then rent for $1 a night, a room in the home of enterprising local residents, including Mary's family.

Also featured is an account of the outdoor pageants held in the park in the 1930s and '40s.

"They were real extravaganzas, held six times a summer," said Cox. "They portrayed Minnesota history and many people took part, including the Civilian Conservation Corps boys, members of the Red Lake Indian band, Boy Scouts and even campers in the park."

Visitors will get a literal "feel" for the Mississippi from the 20-foot long touchable model of the entire river. Different textures in the model represent water, forests, grass and agricultural land. Entry points of other river systems will be indicated and some of the river cities will be shown.

The Headwaters Center is built primarily of sustainable materials-which would have met with Mary Gibbs' approval-and much of it is outdoors. Two massive arches and the walkway connecting them, point the way to the headwaters, where generations of visitors have crossed the infant Mississippi on stepping stones.

According to Cox, it is the headwaters that are the main draw for many of the park's 500,000 annual visitors.

"Since the beginning of time, people have had a fascination to find the headwaters of rivers," said Bryce Anderson, Northwest Regional Naturalist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, "and the headwaters of the Mississippi have been the most accessible for people. The Amazon and many of the other large rivers of the world begin in mountains and have limited accessibility for most people."

"The Mississippi headwaters played a very important part in exploration and it is entwined with the history of boundaries," Anderson continued. "After the Revolutionary War, the Treaty of Paris established the Mississippi River as the western boundary of the United States, but the problem was, nobody knew exactly where it began. Some thought it might start in Canada. There was a whole parade of explorers seeking the headwaters."

After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, exploration continued. Henry Schoolcraft, in 1832, was the one credited with locating the headwaters.

"Of course," Anderson added, "the Ojibwe had known of the source and used the river from time immemorial for transportation and resources. Later, the river also served as a water highway and fishery for European immigrants. Today, barge traffic remains an important way to transport agricultural and other goods."

Anderson credits Schoolcraft's willingness to talk and listen to the Ojibwe, notably explorer guide Ozawindib, with helping him identify the headwaters. Later studies by Jacob Brower, who is regarded as the father of the park, reconfirmed Schoolcraft's discovery.

"Today, as generations of people have done before, visitors will dip their toes in the water and make that short trek across this country's mightiest river, the Mississippi," said Itasca State Park manager Mike Kovacovich. "This time, though, I am pleased that we have been able to provide them with a new facility that offers them a little more insight into this great American treasure."

The public is invited to attend the dedication of the new Mary Gibbs Mississippi Headwaters Center at Itasca State Park on Sept. 10.

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