The original inhabitants of this area were members of several
prehistoric cultures. A subculture called the Malmo focus lived here in
the Middle Wodland Period, roughly between 300 to 1000 A.D.
In 1963 a burial pit was uncovered near Middle Birch Lake north of
Melrose. It contained the bones of three people thought to be warriors,
clam shells, and an intact pot.
By the mid 18th century, the inhabitants were probably all
Wapeton Dakota. The Sauk River may have been their main ‘war road’
in their ongoing battle with their traditional enemy, the Ojibwa.
The Dakota were expelled from Minnesota after the Dakota Conflict of
1862.
