Long Beach

Established 1932

The sandy shoreline along what is now Long Beach and Lakeshore Park in Echo served as the original landing spot for boats supplying Walleye’s Trading Post and Fort Meeker. When boat traffic shifted south to what would become The Docks, Long Beach became an unused wilderness area with a beautiful stretch of lakefront. The first resort appeared in the 1890’s, and throughout the first half of the twentieth century, Long Beach grew into a tourist destination. Peaking in the 1960’s, Long Beach, like much of the city, began to decay. Fewer and fewer tourists sought a vacation on the northern edge of a rapidly rusting, postindustrial metropolis. In recent years, Long Beach has experienced a revival.

History of Long Beach

The area that would become Long Beach served as part of the original landing area for trappers and later for boats supplying Walleye’s Trading Post and Fort Meeker. 1819-1852: Civilization vs Nature

Nineteenth Century

Throughout the nineteenth century, Long Beach remained a backwater, an isolated area where people sought recreation. 1852-1894: Competing Forms of Civilization - Government, Business, and Industry

1884

The rural communities that stretched around the northwestern corner of Central City, encompassing the area that would become the neighborhoods of Long Beach, The Heights, Waite Park, and The Hill, incorporated as Jefferson Township 1852-1894: Competing Forms of Civilization - Government, Business, and Industry

1894

In 1894, the first resort was established in what would become Long Beach, and a string of cabins followed, creating an oasis for the growing population.

1894-1950 Development of Standards, Tradition, and Expectation

1932

Central City Annexed Jefferson Township, a municipal government that served the rural areas that would become The Hill, Waite Park, The Heights, and Long Beach. This act created the modern boundary of Central City. 1894-1950 Development of Standards, Tradition, and Expectation

1950’s

By the 1950’s, Long Beach had become a tourist destinate for people throughout the tristate area. 1950-1980: Counterculture

1960’s

Peaking in the 1960’s, Long Beach, like much of the city, began to decay. 1950-1980: Counterculture

Landmarks

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