The first excursion train pulled into Walker on August 8, 1896, and the town was ready for an influx of fishermen from all over the country. Pat McGarry had opened White Tent City, consisting of twelve white tents, which became the next official stop of the train after the Walker Depot. Along with the many hotels in town, resorts also sprang up around the lake. Area newspapers advertised Leech Lake as the Great Inland Sea, teeming with many varieties of fish. In the days before outboard motors, large steamboats went out on the lake early in the morning, pulling ten or twelve rowboats behind them, and returned in the afternoon with everybody having their limits. Every night, many boxes of frozen fish were loaded on the train, and successful fishermen returned to their homes. Today, the fishing industry remains vital to the area's economy.