Grand Portage in Cook County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Guard the Gate

Photographed by Connor Olson, September 5, 2019

1. Guard the Gate Marker

Inscription.
The Gates are shut always after sunset and... there are two Sentries keeping a look out all night chiefly for fear of accident by fire.
John Macdonell, Grand Portage, 1793

This gatehouse was not intended to prevent—attack-relations with Ojibwe and other Native Americans were friendly, based on mutual trade—but rather to protect the depot from theft and fire.

If you were on guard duty for the North West Company, you would see voyageurs like these coming down the portage, past hayfields and grazing sheep and cattle. Between forest and lake, there would be smoke from cooking fires, canoes being built, and children running through the Ojibwe village, as well as the campsites of canoemen.

Sentries kept a sharp eye out for signs of wild fire, the activities of rival fur companies, and arriving canoe brigades and ships in Grand Portage bay.

Erected by National Park Service.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Industry & Commerce • Parks & Recreational Areas.

Location. 47° 57.754′ N, 89° 41.077′ W.

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Marker is in Grand Portage, Minnesota, in Cook County. It can be reached from Mill Creek Road 0.1 miles south of Store Road. Located at the Grand Portage National Monument. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 112 Mill Creek Rd, Grand Portage MN 55605, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness,

in the Arrowhead Region,

in the Iron Range,

and in the North Shore.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

in the Great North Woods,

on the Great Lakes,

on Lake Superior’s North Shore,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

Rupert’s Land,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Grand Portage (within shouting distance of this marker); North West Company Fur Press (within shouting distance of this marker); The North West Company

Photographed by Connor Olson, September 5, 2019

2. Guard the Gate Marker

Reconstructed Gatehouse

(about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); North West Company Depot (about 300 feet away); The Birchbark Canoe (about 300 feet away); Voyageurs at Grand Portage (about 300 feet away); A Warehouse for Furs, Trade Goods, and Now—Canoes (about 300 feet away); From Slog to Grog (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Grand Portage.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 20, 2020. It was originally submitted on July 17, 2020, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 285 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on July 17, 2020, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. 2. submitted on July 19, 2020, by Connor Olson of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.

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