Sorin’s Bluff / Memorial Park History
Goodhue County Historical Society
The Story of Sorin’s Bluff.
Although the smaller bluff known to the Dakota as He Mni Can (Barn Bluff) is probably the best know bluff landmark in Red Wing because of its location directly on the Mississippi River and its prominent cliff edges, the nearby massive bluff to the south was known to the Dakota as He Mni Can Sun-Ka-Ku, or Barn Bluff’s Little Brother. When the City of Red Wing incorporated in 1857, the bluff was known locally as Sorin’s Bluff, named after the Reverend Matthew Sorin, the first pastor and organizer of First United Methodist Church who settled in Red Wing in 1853.
In the late 19th century, two ski jumps were built on Sorin’s Bluff and helped to establish Red Wing as an American Ski Jump center. Mikkel Hemmestvedt’s had a 37 foot leap in 1887 on the ski jump that overlooked McSorely Street and is accepted as the first ski jumping distance record. The bluff also had a long history related to the lime industry which started at He Mni Can/Barn Bluff but later expanded onto Sorin’s Bluff.
Sorin’s Becomes a Park.
• 1910 – Quarrying ended around 1910 after residents on the East Side of Red Wing complained about the use of explosives.
• 1923-1929 – Red Wing citizens Henrietta Taber and Dr. Myron Smith, leaders of the Woman’s Community Association and Soldiers Memorial Association joined forces to create a park memorial dedicated to soldiers of all wars. Money was raised to acquire 93 acres and improve the quarry road to the summit. The first phase of the project was completed with a parkway around the top of the bluff and the park was dedicated in 1929.
• 1930s – The main overlook and two distinctive picnic areas were developed in the quarry areas using depression era work conservation crews.
• Later 1900s – additional property was acquired by the City and trail systems developed for hiking, mountain biking, and cross country skiing with heavy reliance on citizen volunteers.
1930, Goodhue County Historical Society
Sorin’s Bluff & Memorial Park Today.
At 367 acres, Memorial Park on Sorin’s Bluff is the largest municipally owned and managed park in Minnesota.
Since 2011, volunteers and local philanthropic organizations have reinvested in Memorial Park by restoring the quarry picnic areas, revamping the main overlook, and making improvements to the trail system. Friends of the Bluffs has worked with the City of Red Wing to help preserve the extensive bluff side prairie areas by assisting with invasive plant removal and prairie managed burns.
The City also has a lease agreement with the State of Minnesota Correctional Facility that allows recreational use on adjacent property and the park is connected to Mississippi National Golf Links, a municipally owned 36 hole golf course where the annual Bluff Color Run-Hike takes place each October.