No
Minnesota
county (leaving out
Washington and Lincoln) is honored by a more illustrious namesake than our own
Cass
County
. The County name
memorializes the distinguished soldier and statesman Lewis
Cass. Born in 1782, Lewis Cass was a successful attorney by 1803; Colonel,
then Brigadier General during the War of 1812; Governor (1813-1830) of the
Michigan
Territory
(which included most of
present
Minnesota
and parts of three other
states); and negotiator of twenty-two treaties with Indian tribes. He was
Secretary of War in President Jackson’s Cabinet 1831-1836; Minister to
France
, 1836-1842; U.S. Senator
1845-1848 and 1849-1857; and Secretary of State in the Cabinet of President
Buchanan, 1857-1860. He also was a presidential candidate in 1848.
Lewis
Cass led an expedition into our
North Country
with experts in
topography, mathematics, and medicine, an official recorder, several political
figures, and a young mineralogist named Henry Schoolcraft, who was destined to
achieve historic fame. The expedition also included ten Native Americans, ten
bearers or voyageurs, a squad of seven soldiers, an interpreter, and many
assistants. The expedition was neither pleasant nor particularly successful.
However, it received great publicity in the East. The name of Upper Red Cedar
Lake was changed to Cassina, and later, to
Cass
Lake
. In addition to
Minnesota
’s
Cass
County
, city, and lake names,
there are Cass counties in
Michigan
and
North Dakota
, plus numerous Cass
townships and cities in these other states, including cities named Cassopolis,
Cass
City
, Cassville and Casselton.
Lewis
Cass could never have dreamed of the many lovely cabins and homes surrounding
the lakes of
Cass
County
today.
