Leaf River, Minnesota

Ghost town in Minnesota, United States

Leaf River, or Leafriver, is a ghost town in section 22 of Leaf River Township, Wadena County, Minnesota, United States.Today the town has a population around 50. There is a restaurant, a golf course, an old school house and a residential community.

History

The village of Leaf River had a post office from 1880 until 1882, and again from 1902 until 1908.^[1] It was served by a station of the Great Northern Railway.^[2]

Etymology

The village received its name from the Leaf River, which was in turn named for the Leaf Mountains, which were called by the Ojibwa Gaaskibag-wajiwan.^[3] This name was translated by Gilfillan as "Rustling Leaf Mountains."

Notes

^ "Wadena County". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
^ Upham, Warren (2001). Minnesota Place Names, A Geographical Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition. Saint Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society. p. 607. ISBN 0-87351-396-7.
^ Upham, Warren (2001). Minnesota Place Names, A Geographical Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition. Saint Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society. pp. 425, 433. ISBN 0-87351-396-7.