Monson Lake State Park in western Minnesota spans narrow isthmuses and islands among Monson, West Sunburg, and East Sunburg, kettle lakes formed on the Alexandria Moraine during the last glacial period. Its deeper significance lies in the Dakota War of 1862: the park was created as a memorial to thirteen Swedish American settlers killed in the August 20 attack on the West Lake Settlement at the Broberg cabin site, amid broken treaties, hunger, and U.S. mistreatment of the Dakota. A local memorial effort begun in 1926 led to dedication in 1927, later expansion through New Deal construction, and its continued role as both a quiet reserve and memorial landscape.