Nokomis was originally named Lake Amelia in honor of Captain George Gooding’s daughter, Amelia, in 1819. Its current name wasn’t adopted until 1910. Nokomis was Hiawatha’s grandmother. Before the lake was dredged it was only 5 feet deep. In 1925 Rice Lake was renamed Hiawatha and 1929 Over 1.2 million cubic yards were dredged out of it. The golf course on the west side of the new lake was created on using the dredged fill material. I’m thinking once and thinking twice, I hope they don’t change the name back to Amelia and Rice.
