Lake Waconia

I grew up in the town of Waconia, on Lake Waconia. I have only moved seven miles away! Today I drove to Waconia to buy flowers and find a blip. This was taken from the dock at one of the marinas. Behind the boats is Coney Island. This was a very popular vacation destination in the 1880's. People would come by train from Minneapolis (35 miles) and then take a ferry out to the island. Pictures show very nice buildings and hotels. In the 1940's there was a dance hall and it was a weekend destination. My mother-in-law danced out there. When I was growing up in the 1970's we would go out to the island by boat or snowmobile and wander around, but the buildings had been vandalized. I heard recently that the current owners have considered donating it to the city or county to develop a park, but it would be too costly. There seems to be a bit of nostalgia and mystery to the island and I think it is nice that the land is just left to itself.