The Wanigan

The Wanigan by Sarah Thorp Heald in 1933. Crow Wing County Historical Society. Oil on Panel. 

The full title of this painting, as cited in the Crow Wing County Historical Society's Secretary's Report on the Work of 1938, is Dinner Served at the Wanigans, Foot of North Seventh Street. The full title of the painting reveals the exact location, which is by a current-day Mississippi River access point near Evergreen Cemetery in Brainerd. 

Wanigans were used in logging days, mostly to cook food for the loggers, but occasionally they were used as bunkhouses where men on the river would sleep. Obviously, in this painting, they were being used for some kind of picnic.

“River Wanigan." Minnesota Historical Society. Accessed August 5, 2024. https://www.mnhs.org/foresthistory/activities/wanigan.