Grand Marais in Cook County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
The Fishing Tug NeeGee
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 22, 2024
1. The Fishing Tug NeeGee Marker
In the winter of 1936-37, James Scott and his son, Roger, built the NeeGee a commercial fishing tug used in the deep waters of Lake Superior. Grand Marais had a commercial harbor for many years, and the Scotts were among the earliest fishing operations. They fished out of the harbor well before building their cedar-shake sided fish house in 1907.
Later, Dick Eckel fished out of the Grand Marais Harbor. He had the NeeGee from 1955-1960. Sivertson Bros. Fisheries of Duluth owned her from 1960 until she was donated to the Cook County Historical Society in 2001. Restoration was done entirely by volunteers.
[photo captions]
(left) Brothers James and Jack Scott Jr, c1945. Their father Andrew Jackson Scott was a Civil War veteran and local legend known as Hungry Jack Scott.
(below) The NeeGee was salvaged from the shore at Duluth and brought home for restoration.
(above) The NeeGee was built at the Grand Marais Harbor next to the Scott Fish House
(below: 1950s photo by Gordon Ray) which still stands today. NeeGee means "friend" in Ojibwe. The Scott matriarch was Catherine Boyer Scott, an Ojibwe woman from Wisconsin who grew up in Canada.
Erected by Historic Cook County, Minnesota.
Topics. This historical marker
this page online
Location. 47° 44.868′ N, 90° 20.559′ W. Marker is in Grand Marais, Minnesota, in Cook County. It can be reached from South 8th Avenue West 0.2 miles south of Voyageur Highway (State Highway 61), on the left when traveling south. The marker is mounted on the Fishing Tug NeeGee exhibit located on the beach at the Grand Marais Campground & Marina. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 114 South 8th Avenue West, 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.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Smokehouse (a few steps from this marker); The NEEGEE (a few steps from this marker); Fish House Replica (a few steps from this marker); George Morrison (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Geology of Minnesota (approx. Ό mile away); The Grand Marais Harbor (approx. Ό mile away); Pulpwood Rafting (approx. 0.4 miles away); a different marker also named Grand Marais Harbor (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Grand Marais.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. The Fishing Tug NeeGee
Also see . . .
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 22, 2024
2. The Fishing Tug NeeGee Marker
The marker is mounted directly in front of the NeeGee exhibit.
Excerpt: The 35-foot Nee-Gee Fishing Tug, or friend in Ojibwe, was built by the Scott family in Grand Marais in the 1930s and used until the end of the 1950s. The Nee-Gee was one of four fishing tugs used in Cook County to allow fishing farther onto the lake. It was also used to tow large pulpwood booms out of the harbor to be added to a larger boom that would be towed to the paper mills in Ashland, Wisconsin. The Nee-Gee was donated to the Cook County Historical Society in the late 1990s and was repaired in 2003. The tug is displayed year-round in the Grand Marais Recreational Park & Municipal Campground.(Submitted on March 3, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 22, 2024
3. NeeGee Stern
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 22, 2024
4. NeeGee Bow
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 22, 2024
5. NeeGee Interior
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 22, 2024
6. The Fishing Tug NeeGee
Credits. This page was last revised on March 3, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 3, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 169 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on March 3, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
