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Frog Island on Lake Minnetonka

Frog Island sits in Gideon Bay, on the southern side of Lake Minnetonka. Along with nearby Duck Island, it is one of the small islands that give this part of the lake its familiar outline. Its history is less well documented than its location, but a local family's recollections offer an intriguing explanation for how it came to be.

The dredging connection

Nathan Studer, whose grandfather lived on the nearby lakeshore and owned the Studer dump across the street, shared a family account connecting the island to the Minnetonka Dredging Company. He places the company's headquarters near the present-day Shorewood marina and identifies his grandfather's brother-in-law, Anson Mase, as a former owner.

According to that account, crews returning from a day's dredging would deposit loads of material near their headquarters, gradually building the island. Studer suggests the material may have come from Alligator Alley, the Narrows and other work around the lake. The account leaves open which projects supplied the material and when the island first took shape.

For now, the dredging story remains a local explanation rather than a fully documented history. It is a useful lead, rooted in a family with ties to both the shoreline and the company, and one worth following through old maps and business records.

To explore this part of the lake, visit our Gideon Bay guide for nearby waterfront properties, or continue through the islands of Lake Minnetonka. If you are considering a home here, Daniel and Elisha Gustafson would be glad to help you get to know the shoreline.