Duluth-Superior Harbor

Duluth-Superior Harbor. . , Duluth-Superior harbor is the westernmost terminus of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the world's most inland seaport. Harbor commerce began when Daniel Greysolon Sieur Du Luht portaged across Minnesota Point in 1679 where the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge now stands, opening the area for fur trading. With the early French voyageurs or traders came the first explorers and missionaries. Permanent settlements of Central Duluth began after the Indians ceded their lands in 1854. The Duluth Ship Canal was dug in 1870-71; concrete breakwaters were added in 1898. The Aerial Lift Bridge was built in 1905 as a span for a suspended cable car and converted to a lift span in 1929. At the far end of Minnesota Point can be seen the Superior Ship Entry Canal, the natural outlet of the St. Louis River. Superior Bay (the outer harbor) lies between Minnesota Point and Rice's Point with its grain elevators, seaway terminal and the John A. Blatnik Bridge connecting Duluth with Superior, Wisconsin; to the right of Rice's Point is St. Louis Bay (the inner harbor). , One of a series of Skyline Drive Commemorative Plaques erected in 1972 by the Duluth Lions Club in cooperation with the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce Convention and Visitors Bureau.