The Forest was established as the
Minnesota Forest Reserve on 27 June 1902, with the passage of the
Morris Act. While this act mainly addressed the disposition of unallotted lands on Ojibwe Indian reservations in Minnesota, of the
Chippewas of the Mississippi, Cass Lake, Leech Lake, and Winnibigoshish Indian reservations were designated as a
Forest Reserve. Led by
Maria Sanford and
Florence Bramhall of the Federation of Minnesota Women's Clubs, conservation activism beginning in 1900 brought the forest and potential threats to wide public attention. The Reserve was re-established as the
Minnesota National Forest on 23 May 1908. In 1928, the forest was renamed in honor of the
Chippewa tribe of Native Americans from whose land the forest was created. Subsequent boundary expansions and land purchases increased the area of the forest to its present size.
The Lost Forty The Forest contains an area known as the
Lost Forty. This area, which has a total of , was accidentally mapped as part of Coddington Lake when the original maps of the region were laid out in 1882. As a result of the mapping error, the Lost Forty was never logged. It contains some of the state's oldest forests, with trees over 350 years old. Today, less than two percent of Minnesota's total forested land is such
old growth forest.
Historic and cultural sites There are over 3000 archeological and historic sites located within the forest, two that are most notable and open to the public are: •
Camp Rabideau a
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp is one of the best-preserved of the nation's many CCC camps. • The '''Chippewa National Forest Historic Supervisor's Office''', constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps and
Works Project Administration. Image:Pf026012.jpg|
Ojibwa women in canoe, Leech Lake File:Chippewa National Forest Supervisor's Office.jpg|Forest Supervisor's Office, built in 1936 ==Geography==