Canal

Canal. . , Very early Duluth felt that future growth would depend on having suitable harbor and dockage. Winter storms wrecked breakwater and docks built outside Minnesota Point. St. Louis Bay offered a protected harbor, but access required a canal be dug through Minnesota Point. A contract was let. Dredging started the summer of 1870, cutting through two-thirds of the point, before being stopped by winter. Interests not favoring a canal used the delay to secure an injunction from the War Dept., stopping work. Word reached Duluth on June 9. Aided by the dredge Ishpeming, some 50 citizens with pick and shovel had a 30 foot wide channel cut before officers arrived to serve the injunction. The original canal was 200 feet wide with timber bulkheads. In 1898 the width was increased to 300 feet, with concrete piers and bulkheads as they are today. World shipping enters the largest fresh water harbor and the worlds most inland harbor through this canal. , The Duluth-Superior Harbor, with 59 miles of harbor lines and an area of approximately 12 square miles, compares well with the worlds larger harbors.