List of evaluated roadside properties
Pine-Hickory Lakes Roadside Parking Area
SHPO number: AK-FIS-017
- National Register Nomination
- 1998 inventory form (PDF)
Pine-Hickory Lakes Roadside Parking Area is located along both sides of Trunk Highway 169 about six miles south of Aitkin in Aitkin County. Built between 1937 and 1938 on a narrow strip of land between Little Pine Lake and Hickory Lake, the property is 35 acres and is one of the largest wayside rests developed in Minnesota during the 1930s. The Pine-Hickory Lakes Roadside Parking Area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
Significant historic elements and status
Evaluated under the Multiple Property Documentation Form entitled “Federal Relief Construction in Minnesota, 1933-1941,” the Pine-Hickory Lakes Roadside Parking Area is significant for its association with the formative years of the Roadside Development Division of the Minnesota Department of Highways. It helped the agency meet important goals related to improving highway safety and aesthetics, supporting the automobile tourism industry, and providing roadside amenities to travelers. It is also a good example of the Roadside Development Division’s partnership with federal relief agencies to provide essential work and job training during the Great Depression. Labor was provided by both the National Youth Administration and the Works Progress Administration. The Minnesota Department of Conservation also sponsored the construction of a small concrete dam as part of initial site development.
In addition to its historical associations, Pine-Hickory Lakes Roadside Parking Area is significant as an important example of a designed historic landscape in the National Park Service Rustic Style. The property is an important example of the roadside development work of prominent Minnesota landscape architect A.R. Nichols, who designed it in collaboration with engineer Harold E. Olson of the Roadside Development Division. The spatial arrangement of the site is extremely complex, with two parking areas, swimming and fishing areas, a canoe launch, open grass areas, and picnic spots connected by foot trails. A stone overlook provides scenic views of Hickory Lake from one of the high spots on the property. A council ring with fire pit sits on a hill near the highway, and another council ring is down a log wooded path in a secluded area viewing Little Pine Lake. Vegetation, much of which predates and was preserved during the development of the property, includes both forested areas and open, grassy clearings, along with a peat bog and marshy areas.
Features that contribute to and help convey the significance of the Pine-Hickory Lakes Roadside Parking Area include: the overall spatial organization, circulation, topography, and vegetation; the two lakes and Ripple River with dam, incorporated into the design of the park; the multitude of use areas; and the Rustic Style roadside structures including the overlook wall, fire rings, and council rings.
Noncontributing feature is a wooden fishing pier installed by the DNR in 2020.