2016 Map of Gentilly

About this map

The Red Lake River meanders dramatically across this Northwest Minnesota landscape, creating a series of complex oxbows and loops that define the local topography. At the southern bend of one of these great curves lies the settlement of Gentilly, situated near the confluence where the Gentilly River meets the larger waterway. The map captures a rural community structured by the Public Land Survey System, with gravel roads and township lines intersecting the natural drainage patterns of Kripple Cr and the Black River. Local history and genealogy are anchored by the Saint Peters Cem in Gentilly and Huot Cem to the north in the small community of Huot. This 2016 survey also reveals the extensive hydraulic engineering of the region, specifically County Ditch Number One Hundred Fiftyeight, which illustrates how the prairie land was managed for agricultural use in Polk and Red Lake counties.