In 1850, a group of families ventured from St. Paul along an Indian trail that is now Hazelwood Street. They were the Bells, Caseys, Conlins, and Vincents. At today’s County Road C, they turned to the east and began to build their log cabins. The sound of their axes alerted the Dakota who had a hunting camp nearby and thought the land was still theirs. The Dakota asked them to leave and the newcomers quickly retraced their steps.
However, it is clear that the sediment eroded from the cliffs is transported northward around the eastern and western flanks of the island where it is deposited in the form of two “horn-like” features, Brant Point on the east and The Portage on the west.