Grand Marais Harbor

Grand Marais Harbor. . Henry Mayhew, explorer, prospector, entrepreneur and county commissioner, was credited with developing Gunflint Trail and Grand Marais. Capitalizing on the North Shore's well-established commercial fishing and tourism industries, he constructed the lighthouse, warehouses, docks and a hotel in this harbor in the late 1800s., Without roads, Grand Marais, like other North Shore communities, depended upon the Booth Packing Company's steamships for provisions. These vessels, including the Argo, Bon Ami, and later the Dixon and America, sailed between Duluth and Port Arthur collecting fish for market, making mail deliveries and transporting passengers. While awaiting the ship's arrival in Grand Marais, people etched their names into nearby rocks. Almost 100 names remain visible., The harbor teemed with activity when the ships anchored at Mayhew's dock. As passengers disembarked, men unloaded livestock and lugged hay bales and lumber to the warehouses. Barrels packed with fish were hauled aboard, and horse or oxen-drawn wagons piled high with supplies rushed frantically back and forth., When the Dixon's route was changed in 1902, the steamship America became a familiar sight in the Grand Marais harbor. She served North Shore communities for over a quarter of a century, until Lake Superior's treacherous waters claimed her in 1928.