So named in honor of Clarence R. Magney (1883-1962), lawyer, mayor of Duluth, district judge, justice of Minnesotas Supreme Court, student of Minnesota history, defender of its wilderness areas, champion of their preservation.
As a young man . . . — — Map (db m232202) HM
Originally made from cedar and birch bark, the Canot du Nord functioned as the workhorse of the 18th and 19th century fur trade. These birch bark canoes could carry several tons of trade goods and between 4 and 6 voyageurs, the occupational . . . — — Map (db m235254) HM
You are looking across Gunflint Lake at the Canadian shore. This was one of the international routes taken by the voyageurs in the late 1600's into the 1800's. — — Map (db m231493) HM
Gunflint Trail Area
The Gunflint Trail is one of Minnesota's most famous roads. Along its 56 miles are trails on old railroads, clear lakes, moose viewing areas, giant magnetic boulders, ancient meteor strikes, recovering fire areas, and . . . — — Map (db m235139) HM
Wildfire!
At 11.44 am, May 5, 2007, a wildlife was reported in the vicinity of Ham Lake, near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Gunflint Trail. By the time the Ham Lake Fire was 100% contained fourteen days later, it had . . . — — Map (db m231835) HM
Listen! Can you hear echoes from the 1930s, when 200 men of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) used picks and shovels to construct the Cascade River Overlook?
The Overlook, where you stand today, is part of the 118-acre Cascade . . . — — Map (db m203021) HM
An Indian community of about 200 people was located in this area about 1915. An ancient Indian cemetery is located about two blocks northeast of this historic church — — Map (db m203254) HM
In 1906 this community was named in honor of Colonel William Colvill, commander of the First Minnesota Regiment.
At the Battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, this regiment was ordered to charge and advance of Confederates twenty times their . . . — — Map (db m232203) HM
When Newton H. Winchell, Minnesota's state geologist, and, Ulysses S. Grant II (the presidents son) surveyed this area in the 1890s, they concluded that a peak in the Misquah Hills was the state's highest point. Using an aneroid barometer, . . . — — Map (db m151362) HM
Native peoples harvested Lake Superior fish for thousands of years prior to 1835, when John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company established a commercial fishing post in Grand Marais. The company employed these same Native peoples, as well as former . . . — — Map (db m267409) HM
The rocks of the North Shore of Lake Superior record the last period of volcanic activity in Minnesota. This volcanism occurred 1.1 billion years ago when the North American continent began to rupture along a great rift valley, which extended from . . . — — Map (db m203069) HM
The harbor of Grand Marais is the result of unequal weathering or erosion of two types of rock. One of these, called diabase, resulted from the cooling of molten material which was forced between two earlier lava flows. The dark, massive diabase, . . . — — Map (db m203155) HM
I seek the power of the rock, the magic of the water, the religion of the tree, the color of the wind, and the enigma of the horizon. ~George Morrison George Morrison was a visionary, modern artist from the North Shore. He was given two . . . — — Map (db m267438) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m203209) HM
Ancient Volcanoes
1.1 billion years ago, 500 million years before invertebrates appeared, a giant volcanic rift began to open where Lake Superior now lies. Huge lava flows erupted from the rift, spreading over hundreds of square miles . . . — — Map (db m203225) HM
In 1972 Consolidated Papers, Inc., of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., ended long distance rafting of pulpwood across Lake Superior. From 19231972, Consolidated rafted over two million cords of pulpwood from Minnesota and Canada to Ashland, Wis. Minnesota . . . — — Map (db m203083) HM
Built in the 1940s in Colvill, Minnesota by John and Randolph Samskar and donated to the Cook County Historical Society by the Randolph Samskar Estate. A number of fishermen along the North Shore had similar, but often smaller, smokehouses. Most . . . — — Map (db m267435) HM
From the 1700s until the early 1900s, itinerant missionaries braved extreme hardships to minister sporadically to North Shore settlers. In 1855, Jesuit missionaries from Fort Williams, Ontario, served Chippewa City, an Ojibwe community of about 100 . . . — — Map (db m200626) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m267412) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m203151) HM
Or Friend in Ojibwe, was built at Grand Marais in 1936 by the Scott Family. While other fishing tugs fished from this harbor, only the Neegee was built here. A typical Lake Superior fishing tug, the Neegee was intended to fish off shore. In the . . . — — Map (db m267430) HM
Welcome!
The Point is a broad tombolo which defines the two natural harbors that have made Grand Marais an important spot on Lake Superior's shore for centuries. The 8.4 acre Point was conveyed to the federal government in 1942, and is part . . . — — Map (db m203216) HM
Hedstrom Lumber Mill
This 6 acre site, bounded by the Gunflint Trail, County Road 60, and the Devil Track River, was home to the Hedstrom Lumber mill and office from 1914 to 1994. The 4 acre eastern portion, once boulder filled and rough, . . . — — Map (db m231483) HM
Ojibwe elders at Grand Portage still remember the little village along the lakefront of the early 20th century. Like the kids in the photograph, they might have ridden on the first road from Duluth to Thunder Bay old US Highway 61 after it . . . — — Map (db m267284) HM
In the 1960s, archeologists discovered here remains of a structure used between 1785 and 1802, unusual because it was built on posts. They found artifacts that match the bills of lading from bales, kegs, and cassettes (small trunks) that were canoed . . . — — Map (db m152972) HM
First People Pieces of pottery found in this area show that humans have lived here for thousands of years. Archaeological evidence of ancient pits tell us that people mined copper from Isle Royale visible on the horizon some . . . — — Map (db m267378) HM
Voyageurs who did not want to buy things at the North West Company store inside the Depot had another option or so it appeared. They could visit Boucher's Tavern, which once stood on the land before you. Operated by their fellow Frenchman, Jean . . . — — Map (db m267366) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m152975) HM
High Falls and nearly 20 miles of other falls and rapids made river travel impossible for Indians and fur traders. The Indians developed The Grand Portage (meaning the great carrying place), a nine-mile trail bypassing the falls and rapids to . . . — — Map (db m267352) HM
The oldest existing log church in Minnesota. The log structure was built in 1865, during the pastorate of Father Dominic Du Ranquet from Canada. The Jesuit fathers served the mission until 1905. The tamarack logs were covered with siding in 1940. . . . — — Map (db m254467) HM
Early loggers sent all their logs down the Pigeon River. How did they get the logs over High Falls? The wooden structure that you can see on the Canadian side of the Pigeon River is the remains of a log flume. Constructed in 1899 to avoid log . . . — — Map (db m267337) HM
Minnesota's Northern Border
Determining, surveying, and marking Minnesotas border with Canada took 142 years and left the state with a tag end called the Northwest Angle standing isolated and alone on the Canadian side of Lake of the . . . — — Map (db m206879) HM
The Grand Portage, or "the great carrying place, Gichi Onigamiing, has been a meeting point for centuries: it was part of an extensive Native American trading network well before the first French trader arrived in 1731. Though the French formally . . . — — Map (db m152968) HM
"All the buildings within the Fort are sixteen in number...Six of these buildings are Store Houses for the company's Merchandise and Furs, etc., the rest are dwelling houses shops compting and Mess House..."
John Macdonell 1793
"June . . . — — Map (db m153048) HM
The lever fur press, much like the reconstructed model before you, was frequently used at fur trading posts operated by the North West Company. It was simple to operate and could be constructed from wood found near the post. Fur pelts, with . . . — — Map (db m153042) HM
American Indians developed the birchbark canoe hundreds or thousands of years ago. It would provide the technology that allowed the North West Company to span the continent.
"Canots du Nord"
The 24-foot north canoes could be portaged . . . — — Map (db m153049) HM
The Grand Portage, or Great Carrying Place, was a key 18th century link between the Pigeon River and Lake Superior, making it also a vital connection between Montreal and the rich fur-bearing lands far to the northwest. Traveled for centuries before . . . — — Map (db m62049) HM
Inside the Historic Depot in front of you are three of the sixteen buildings that once comprised the summertime headquarters of the North West Company. The depot was not a fort but instead a secure transshipment point for valuable furs and trade . . . — — Map (db m152973) HM
Montreal canoemen were hired to paddle to Grand Portage. Once there, each man had to carry several 90-pounds (41-kg) bundles of trade goods and supplies up the Grand Portage to Fort Charlotte, where the bundles were repacked for canoe brigades . . . — — Map (db m153054) HM
The Treaty of Paris 1783 generally concluded the disputing of the boundaries between the U.S. and Canada. However, there was much controversy over the section of the treaty which provided that the dividing line for this area be the usual water . . . — — Map (db m267334) HM
In 1856 post offices were established at Grand Marais and Grand Portage on a mail route connecting Duluth, Minnesota, and Fort Williams, Canada. Since there were no roads, mail was carried in summer by boat on Lake Superior. In winter, dog teams . . . — — Map (db m254468) HM
Father Frederic Baraga, learning of a possible
epidemic afflicting the Indians at Grand Portage in 1846, set out in a small boat from Madeline Island in Wisconsin with an Indian guide.
An unexpected storm threatened them, but their lives were . . . — — Map (db m98448) HM
This was the view of the bay in front of you in the 1950s. It was the heyday of resorts in a fisherman's paradise at the end of the Gunflint Trail. — — Map (db m232018) HM
Saganaga Lake is located along the Border Route, an ancient travel route between Lake Superior and the interior waters of Lac La Pluie (Rainy Lake) that is often referred to as The Voyageur's Highway.
Saganaga Lake was an . . . — — Map (db m231492) HM
Saganaga Lake is located along the Border Route, an ancient travel route between Lake Superior and the interior waters of Lac La Pluie (Rainy Lake) that is often referred to as The Voyageur's Highway.
Saganaga Lake was an . . . — — Map (db m232520) HM
The word "portage" is French for "to carry."
Canoe rests were built between 1933 - 1942 in the Superior Roadless Wilderness Area, now known as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC). . . . — — Map (db m232921) HM
You are standing near the former site of the Judge's Cabin built approximately 1934.
"American Plan" was a popular cabin rental option from the 1920s-1970s. American Plan cabins were furnished with beds, chairs, dressers, and a wash . . . — — Map (db m235864) HM
Trapper's lives were spartan and generally routine.
Before freeze-up, they brought in supplies, cut wood, and weather-proofed their cabins and shelters. Returning in November, they set trap lines along trails looping fifty miles or so through . . . — — Map (db m231548) HM
This log was taken from a dead red pine (Pinus resinosa) tree growing on Voyageurs Island in Lake Saganaga.
Through a process called crossdating, the growth rings of this tree have been matched to those of living trees growing elsewhere in . . . — — Map (db m231689) HM
The scenery of the region between Split Rock and Beaver Bay is the direct result of important events of early geologic time.
Lava flows, which had accumulated in this region to a thickness of about 30,000 feet, were lifted and arched by a . . . — — Map (db m76280)
The Lighthouse In 1855, Michigan's Sault Saint Marie Locks opened, linking the country's farthest "inland sea" with the lower Great Lakes. The North Shore quickly became busy with pleasure boats carrying wealthy easterners to cabins and ships . . . — — Map (db m266800) HM
No one knows for sure who built this fireplace, but it's thought that it was constructed in the early 1900s by a Duluth businessman.
Local legend has it that Frank Day was smitten by love and planned to marry. The fireplace was the first item . . . — — Map (db m231188) HM
This anchor was salvaged from the shipwreck of the 5000-ton steel barge, Madeira, which was tossed up against Gold Rock Point, about a quarter mile northeast of here, during the fierce storm of November 27-28, 1905. As the ship broke . . . — — Map (db m78751) HM
The first dock was built on this site in 1909. Supplies were loaded onto the dock from lighthouse tenders, or supply ships. Subjected to harsh weather, the dock was rebuilt many times. Water, Water Everywhere Lake water for drinking and . . . — — Map (db m254837) HM
Sound When Sight Fails
When bad weather obscured a lighthouse beacon, navigators relied on its fog signal. Swirling snow and pea-soup fog could even make Split Rock Lighthouse invisible during the day. Navigators aboard ore boats relied on . . . — — Map (db m203737) HM
Earth's Crust Ruptures
The geology of the shoreline between Split Rock and Little Marais is the direct result of cataclysmic events that occurred many kilometers* below the earth's surface. About 1.1 billion years ago, this continent began . . . — — Map (db m204164) HM
Looking northeast, the next major outcropping along the shoreline is Gold Rock (formerly Rust) Point. The Madeira sank at Gold Rock Point during the November, 1905, Mataafa Blow. On calm days boaters can see the wreckage, 40 feet below the . . . — — Map (db m254818) HM
The three houses you see here were built in 1909, and housed the lighthouse keeper, his assistants, and their families in 1910. The keepers lived in these homes until the shipping season ended in December, then wintered in other homes until the . . . — — Map (db m203745) HM
This lighthouse was built after a 1905 storm damaged 29 boats and resulted in more than three million dollars in damages.
Split Rock Lighthouse stands as a beacon to safety in the lake shipping industry. Construction began in 1909, with a . . . — — Map (db m203739) HM
In the early 1900s, a fishing village formed in the cove of Little Two Harbors, southwest of the lighthouse. More than a dozen men lived there, in log and tar paper shacks. The island you see is Ellingson Island. The next point south is Corundum . . . — — Map (db m254814) HM
Between the lighthouse's kerosene lantern and the fog signal's gasoline engines, Split Rock needed a ready supply of fuel. The sturdy, fire-resistant oil house was built to store that fuel safely. The 16-inch-thick walls are made from poured cement . . . — — Map (db m203741) HM
This concrete platform is all that's left of the building that housed the steam hoist engine used to build Split Rock Lighthouse.
Everything needed for building the light station in 1909-10 arrived by boat. The hoist engine powered a winch . . . — — Map (db m204161) HM
This concrete platform is all that remains of the building that housed the steam hoist engine that was used in constructing Split Rock Lighthouse.
Everything needed for building the light station in 1909-10 came by boat. The hoist engine . . . — — Map (db m78717) HM
The 3 storage barns were the first buildings constructed at the station. Keeping supplies safe and dry was essential. By the time road access was completed, the keepers had converted the barns from storage to garages for automobiles.
And then . . . — — Map (db m203744) HM
It's the early morning hours of November 28, 1905.
Imagine yourself standing right here in the middle of one of the worst storms in Great Lakes history65-mile-per-hour winds, blinding snow, 30-foot waves crashing into the cliff.
The . . . — — Map (db m78716) HM
It's the early morning hours of November 28, 1905.
Imagine yourself standing right here in the middle of one of the worst storms in Great Lakes history: 65-mile-per-hour winds, blinding snow, and 30-foot waves crashing into the cliff. . . . — — Map (db m204163) HM
A tramway a narrow railroad track with a small flatbed car was built here in 1916. Everything the lighthouse keepers needed was unloaded at the base of this cliff. Supplies were then loaded into a tramcar and hauled up by a cable rigged to . . . — — Map (db m254832) HM
As the new territory along the North Shore opened up and began to thrive after the signing of the 1854 Treaty of LaPointe, so too were the needs to access the area. In the late 1880's and through the 1890's a stage coach road was developed as a . . . — — Map (db m269470) HM
You follow Old Sven into the smallest building. He opens a ledger on a desk.
"You'll be paid the standard rate, a dollar a day. That'll be $26.00 for the month. You work from dawn until dark. If there's an early moon you may work . . . — — Map (db m152959) HM
Welcome to the actual location of Camp #8 of the St. Croix Logging Company
- used in 1906 as a winter logging camp and for several more seasons as a spring camp for log drivers.
Early this morning, at the sawmill in Winton (3 miles east of . . . — — Map (db m153106) HM
This town site, named after President Buchanan, was laid out in October 1856. From September 1857 until May 1859 the place though little less than wilderness, was the seat of the U.S. Land Office for the Northeastern District of Minnesota. After the . . . — — Map (db m43806) HM
So designated by the Minnesota State Legislature and enacted into State Law, April 20, 1961.
In recognition of the eminent leadership and outstanding contributions of Arthur V. Rohweder to the achievement by Minnesota of notable success and . . . — — Map (db m43830) HM
Pellet Island claims its third victim
Fierce winds and forceful waves prove undoing for modern, powerful vessel.
Thanksgiving Day, 1979 started out like any other day for Captain Clyde Trueax and his crew aboard the 600-foot bulk . . . — — Map (db m203366) HM
This city was originally built by Reserve Mining Company to house the employees of their taconite production facility. When construction began in 1951, the town was known as the Beaver Bay housing project and one of the first houses in town became . . . — — Map (db m203561) HM
Diver Discovery
The cold, clear waters of Lake Superior have preserved the remains of many important shipwrecks. In 1961, two divers located the wreck of the bulk freight steamer Hesper along the western breakwaters of the harbor. . . . — — Map (db m203364) HM
Photos courtesy of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Preservation Society
Hesper
May 5, 1905
The Hesper was lost when it was caught in a late spring snow storm in 1905. The storm's 60-mile-an-hour winds drove it well off its . . . — — Map (db m203554) HM
History
Northshore Mining Company, which originally operated as Reserve Mining, was the first taconite processing facility in North America when it opened in 1955. The plant's production capacity was doubled to 10 million tons in 1964. The . . . — — Map (db m203439) HM
Rising from the waves of Lake Superior, this cliff face serves as an awesome reminder of Minnesota's geological past. Eruptions of molten lava over a billion years ago, followed by eons of weathering and glacier scouring, created the spectacular . . . — — Map (db m203280) HM
Northshore Mining Company originally operated as Reserve Mining Company. It was the first taconite mining and processing facility in North America when it opened in 1955. The company currently employs nearly 500 people and produces about 5 . . . — — Map (db m203360) HM
Why Safe Harbors?
Minnesota contains 150 miles of Lake Superior shoreline. With few exceptions, the shore is rocky and inhospitable to boaters in an emergency. From the time of American Indians and French-Canadian Voyagers paddling their . . . — — Map (db m203370) HM
In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the first shipment of iron ore from the State of Minnesota, through the port of Two Harbors and to the memory of those men of vision and courage, who promoted the Duluth & Iron Range Railroad Co., this . . . — — Map (db m78823) HM
With the onset of WWII the nations demand for steel created the need for bigger ships. It was evident that the original harbor breakwater was too small to accommodate the newer ships that were often 600+ feet long.
The original breakwater. . . . — — Map (db m204331) HM
The "railroad tracks" on the shore before you are the last vestiges of a once vibrant commercial fishing village in Agate Bay. It was an easy transition for Scandinavian immigrants to begin fishing almost immediately upon arrival in America. The . . . — — Map (db m78851) HM
Shortly after the first shipment of iron ore left Agate Bay, the U.S. Government developed a plan to improve the safety of the harbor. In 1887 construction began on the West breakwater. Also, one acre of land was purchased on which to build a light . . . — — Map (db m204339) HM
This boat the Crusader II was built in 1939 by Ruben and Charles Hill of Larsmont Minnesota. It was christened by Crown Prince Olav of Norway during a visit to Knife River.
The Hill family built over 200 boats used mostly by the commercial . . . — — Map (db m78820) HM
This sleigh was used by the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad Company to transport officials and employees between Duluth and Two Harbors, from 1882 to 1886, which period of time covered the construction of the road between Two Harbors and the . . . — — Map (db m78786) HM
Two Harbors owes its very existence to the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad (D&IR), established in 1883 to transport iron ore from the Vermilion Range for shipping to steel mills via the the Great Lakes. The railroad chose Agate Bay, renamed Two . . . — — Map (db m78778) HM
Central American Connection
The 3 Spot was built in 1883, by Philadelphia-based Baldwin Locomotive Works. The 3 Spot was originally built for the Tehuantepec Interoceanic Railway in Mexico. The Tehuantepec Interoceanic never took delivery, . . . — — Map (db m78787) HM
[Marker 1]
This locomotive is dedicated to the men, women, and families of the Duluth Missabe & Iron Range Railroad
[Marker 2]
DM&IR Yellowstone Mallet #229, which is displayed opposite the venerable Duluth & Iron Range Railroad 3 . . . — — Map (db m78785) HM
Built in 1896 by the Cleveland Ship Building Company, the Edna G. was the last steam driven tugboat in operation on the Great Lakes when it was retired in 1981. She is currently owned by the City of Two Harbors.
Named after the daughter, . . . — — Map (db m204341) HM
This 10-ton bronze propeller from the Eugene W. Pargny shown with tug Edna G, leaving its home port, Two Harbors. Built 1917, the 600-ft. boat made 37 trips yearly until retired 1984. Gift of D. James Jumer, 1999 — — Map (db m204333) HM
Hand Car
Hand and Push Cars were primarily used by section crews to move men and equipment to local work sites. Hand cars did not have a reverse gear and had to be picked up by four men and turned to face the opposite direction.
[Photo . . . — — Map (db m78806) HM
As you walk the pebbled beaches of the North Shore, watch for translucent, color-banded, and reddish-brown stones called Lake Superior agateMinnesota's state gemstone. The story of the Lake Superior agate begins 1.1 billion years ago, when basaltic . . . — — Map (db m204248) HM
The first D&IR wooden ore cars were purchased from the Northwestern Manufacturing Co. in 1884. The first order was for 300 cars at a cost of $615 each. The cars had a capacity of 20 tons but were often overloaded. The lifespan of this equipment . . . — — Map (db m78797) HM
It looks out upon the waters of Lake Superior, the largest fresh water lake in the world, known by the Chippewas as Kitchi Gummi. From this point the lake extends easterly 400 miles and westerly 30 miles. Raddison and Grosseillers canoed this lake . . . — — Map (db m180428) HM
The large steel structures protruding into Agate Bay are massive iron ore docks. They replaced the earlier and smaller wooden docks built between 1883 and 1896. Of the three steel docks only Dock 1 and Dock 2 are in service today. Dock 1 the . . . — — Map (db m204323) HM
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