Eden Prairie conservationist Jeff Strate has begun carrying around a large aerial photograph that shows an island of forest surrounded by a sea of houses. The island, he says, could become Eden Prairie’s first historic district. One of the small army of community activists who brought the city its Birch Island Woods Conservation Area into being, Strate is partial to the name Birch Island Lake Heritage District.

Strate has been talking about the idea for a few months now, getting advice from people such as John Gertz, Eden Prairie’s heritage preservation specialist. A week ago, Strate unveiled it at a meeting of Friends of Birch Island Woods. On Monday night, he took his proposal public, appearing at a meeting of the city’s Heritage Preservation Commission.

“No one has said, No, it’s a bad idea yet,” Strate said. The commission liked it too, and approved a motion that said so. The group, which advises the Eden Prairie City Council, provides oversight of the city’s historic places and structures.

To Strate and his ally, Eden Prairie farmer Terry Picha, the site is as historic as anything Eden Prairie has to offer. Within the boundaries of Kurtz Lane, Eden Prairie Road, Crosstown Highway 62, Indian Chief Road and Birch Island Road lie 10,000 years of local history:

ï A Native American burial area where spear points have been found. The exact location is kept secret, to protect it from looters.

Glen Lake Children’s Camp, a cluster of buildings overlooking Birch Island Lake that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1925, the camp originally was [part of] Glen Lake Sanatorium, a Hennepin County facility built for tuberculosis patients. Closed in 1950 and vacant until 1957, the camp reopened when leased by the Minneapolis Association for Retarded Citizens. It now serves the developmentally disabled.

Eden Wood Center, a city-owned conference center near Glen Lake Children’s Camp. Operated by Friendship Ventures, a charitable nonprofit serving special-needs children and adults, the center hosts meetings and conferences. An 1882 Chaska brick home, the Holasek House, was moved onto the site in 1987, where it currently houses Friendship Ventures staff.

Birch Island Woods Conservation Area, which is crossed by the raised bed of one of Minnesota’s first rail lines, the Milwaukee Railroad. The route now is a hiking trail, which Strate points out is paved with original cinders.

Birch Island Park and Birch Island Lake also lie within the boundaries.

Strate would like to include in the district several sites that lie in adjoining areas:

Picha Heritage Farm, a century-old farm first acquired by the Picha family in 1912 and the last of the area’s once-common raspberry farms. The current owner, Terry Picha, has worked to preserve farm buildings in their original state, and he would like to turn it into a living history farm where children could come to learn how pioneer [1920’s - 40’s] farmers lived. Of the original 80 acres, 5.5 are left, Picha said. Another five-acre farm owned by the Picha family also lies just south of Birch Island Road and could be bought and added to the district, Strate said.

A neighborhood of post-World War II homes that Strate called probably one of the loveliest of its kind in the Twin Cities. The neighborhood lies to the southeast of the Birch Island Conservation Area, with homes placed along streets named Canterbury Lane, Stratford Road, Kingston Drive, Castle Drive, Crown Drive, and Leesborough and Manchester Lanes. Strate said a number of homeowners favor placing their area into a historic district, but he hasn’t contacted all the homeowners.

Gertz said a model for the type of historic district Strate has in mind could be found in national heritage areas, a designation that provides preservation without tight regulation. “Nobody would come along and say you can’t paint your house that color,” Gertz said.

“This thing may just end up being different-looking street signs,” Strate said. But even that would help in applying for foundation funding,” he said, and it would also help the area resist Metropolitan Council pressure to develop.

Strate said he plans to go next to the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission, as he works his way slowly toward City Council. He said he imagines the entire process will take two or three years.

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