Rustic Style

By 1933, when the National Park Service first sent work groups to Minnesota, a design philosophy called National Park Service Rustic Style had emerged as the standard for state park development. The design philosophy insisted on emphasizing natural features rather than man-made ones.

Rustic Style buildings were designed not to call attention to themselves but to blend with the natural environment. They were constructed with whatever materials were locally available and often have a hand-crafted appearance.

Minnesota's Rustic Style resources tell the story of its land. Log construction took place in the northern portions of the state, where timber was plentiful. Stone buildings were more typical in the south and northwest. A combination of log and stone is common in the central section of the state. Minnesota stonework includes limestone in the south; basalt rock and sandstone in the east; colorful quartzites in the southwest; granite and gabbro near Lake Superior; and fieldstone in the west, north and northwest.