Kemp's Island

Kemp's Island (later Freeborn Island) was an island in the Mississippi River downriver from Grey Cloud Islandundefined in Cottage Grove township sections 34 and 35. The island was likely submerged due to the construction of Lock & Dam No. 2 downriver in Hastings.

Naming
The island was likely named for Daniel A. Kemp who lived just across the river in Cottage Grove. Kemp was recorded on the 1857, 1865, 1875, 1885, 1895 and 1905 Minnesota state censusesundefined. At a later date, it was referred to as Freeborn Island, named after William Freeborn, whose name was also bestowed to a Minnesota countyundefined.

Appearance and Disappearance
Kemp's Island is unusual that it appeared on multiple maps and was mentioned in books and newspapers until it abruptly disappeared sometime before 1947. It is currently unknown to the authors exactly what happened to the island, or to those who lived on it, but it is suspected that flooding due to a dam caused it to be submerged.

Occurrences on Maps
The island itself was first recorded on an 1854 plat map of the township where it was simply referred to as "an island in the river." The first occurrence of the name "Kemp's Island" is on an 1874 map of the county, produced by Alfred T. Andreasundefined. This information is also found on a county plat map from 1876. A state plat book from 1916 records no fewer than thirteen different parcels of property on the island, though it does not name the island.

Other Occurrences
Kemp's Island was briefly named in a geologic report from 1885 where the author uses it to reference a stratum of limestoneundefined. The island was also mentioned in an 1899 edition of the St. Paul Globe where a short article described a dead body that had been found thereundefined.

Disappearance
The island and all references to it abruptly end after a point. According to aerial photographs, the entire island had disappeared prior to 1947undefined. When Lock & Dam No. 2 in Hastings was constructed in 1931undefined the flow of the Mississippi around Grey Cloud Island was severely altered. The flooding and complete submergence of Kemp's Island was likely a result of the dam's construction.