Between Red Wing and Wabasha, the rugged valley of the Upper Mississippi broadens into Lake Pepin, a striking expanse of water long used as a highway by Indian people of many cultures before Father Louis Hennepin called it the “Lake of Tears” in 1680. Burial mounds and earthworks remain along its shores. After Minnesota Territory opened to settlement in 1849, the lake carried brisk commercial traffic tied to lumbering and agriculture, with huge log rafts towed downriver and steamboats bringing thousands of settlers while carrying away wheat and flour from the rich land. Lake Pepin also supported commercial fishermen and clammers who sold shells for button making, and it has continued to draw people seeking romance and recreation through sailing, water skiing, and fishing.