Pokegama, Minnesota

Pokegama (/pəˈkɛɡɒˌmɑː/) is an unincorporated community in Pokegama Township, Pine County, Minnesota, United States; along the southern shores of Pokegama Lake. Its name in Ojibwe is Bakegamaang, meaning "at the side-lake", referring to Pokegama Lake's position to the Snake River.

Pokegama Bakegamaang
Unincorporated community
Pokegama Location of the community of Pokegama within Pokegama Township, Pine County Show map of Minnesota Pokegama Pokegama (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 45°49′18″N 93°02′54″W
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Pine
Township	Pokegama Township
Elevation	932 ft (284 m)
Population
• Total	70
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	55030 and 55063
Area code	320
GNIS feature ID	649613[1]

The community is located between Pine City and Henriette along Pokegama Lake Road (County Road 7), between Brook Park Road (County Road 13) and Tigua Road (County Road 53).^[2]

History

Originally an Ojibwa village, Pokegama housed a Presbyterian Mission ran by Frederick Ayer, claiming to print the first Christian Bible in the Ojibwe language in Minnesota.^[3]

As of 2004, Pokegama held the Minnesota state record low temperature records for March (-49 F in 1897), November (-45 F in 1896), and December (-57 F in 1898).^[4]

The Great Hinckley Fire of 1894 destroyed the small community of Pokegama materially and killed 28 of its people.^[5]

The Pokegama Sanatorium^[6] for tuberculosis operated on the south side of Pokegama Lake from 1905 to 1944.^[7]

The 'city' of Brook Park, 7 miles to the north, is the historical successor of the old town of Pokegama.