Grand Marais in Cook County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
The Grand Marais Harbor
July 25, 2022
1. The Grand Marais Harbor Marker
Inscription.
The Grand Marais Harbor. . Lake Superior Indians recognized the unique nature of this bay long ago, naming it "Kitchi-Bitobig", meaning "double body of water." When white man first settled around this bay, in 1854, a few Indian families lived in tepees and cabins around the shore. White population increased rapidly after the 1870s, and dependence on ship transportation became more critical; storms and shipwrecks led to demands for a lighthouse, which was finally built in 1885, the first on the American North Shore. As added protection for this harbor of refuge, the east breakwater had been built a year earlier; the harbor became even more protected from violent seas in 1901, when the Corps of Engineers completed the west breakwater and continued the 16-foot dredging project. During three generations, this bay was a busy hub of economic and social activity; commercial fishing, shipping and rafting of sawlogs and pulpwood, dredging gravel, picnics and bonfires on the Point, 4th of July celebrations, skating and swimming, sailboat races, the arrivals and departures of the steamships "Dixon" and "America" and many other vessels. Until the new highway along the North Shore was built in the 1920s, this magnificent harbor was the focus of life in Grand Marais.
Lake Superior Indians recognized the unique nature of this bay long ago, naming it "Kitchi-Bitobig", meaning "double body of water." When white man first settled around this bay, in 1854, a few Indian families lived in tepees and cabins around the shore. White population increased rapidly after the 1870s, and dependence on ship transportation became more critical; storms and shipwrecks led to demands for a lighthouse, which was finally built in 1885, the first on the American North Shore. As added protection for this harbor of refuge, the east breakwater had been built a year earlier; the harbor became even more protected from violent seas in 1901, when the Corps of Engineers completed the west breakwater and continued the 16-foot dredging project. During three generations, this bay was a busy hub of economic and social activity; commercial fishing, shipping and rafting of sawlogs and pulpwood, dredging gravel, picnics and bonfires on the Point, 4th of July celebrations, skating and swimming, sailboat races, the arrivals and departures of the steamships "Dixon" and "America" and many other vessels. Until the new highway along the North Shore was built in the 1920s, this magnificent harbor was the focus of life in Grand Marais.
Location. 47° 44.955′ N, 90° 20.261′ W. Marker is in Grand Marais, Minnesota, in Cook County. It is at the intersection of North Shore Scenic Drive (State Highway 61) and Wisconsin Street, on the right when traveling east on North Shore Scenic Drive. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Grand Marais MN 55604, 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, on the Great Lakes, and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, in the Great North Woods, on Lake Superiors 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, Ruperts Land, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
2. The Grand Marais Harbor Marker (left), from the north
July 25, 2022
3. Panoramic Photo of Grand Marais Harbor from the north
July 25, 2022
4. Panoramic Photo of Grand Marais Harbor from the south
Credits. This page was last revised on August 4, 2022. It was originally submitted on August 3, 2022. This page has been viewed 461 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 3, 2022.
