North Shore Historic Sites

A guide to the  historic sites along the North Shore, listed from the southwest [Duluth] end of shore, to the northeast.

Scenic 61

• Scenic 61 Drive, follows the path of the original 1929 North Shore road
• 1856 Buchanan Wayside, site of the 1st north shore post office and an early community on Scenic 61

Two Harbors

• 1907 Duluth & Iron Range Railroad Depot, now a museum on the waterfront
• 1883 Ore Dock #1, the ore dock closest to show on the waterfront
• 1883 3 Spot train & Mallet Engine, on the waterfront
• 1892 Two Harbors Light Station, includes a museum and B&B, on the waterfront
• 1896 Edna G. tug, was in service until1981,on the waterfront
• 1896 Sunken ship Samuel P. Ely, [ok, not the easiest to see, but interesting] in Lake Superior near the western breakwall
• 1930s R.J. Houle Visitors Center, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps [CCC] as a fire station on Cloquet Lake, now on the northeast edge of town on Highway 61

Gooseberry

• Virgin Pine and Cedar at Encampment Forest, on Hwy 61 northeast of Two Harbors [drive by only, this is all private property]
• 1930s CCC Buildings at Gooseberry Falls State Park, take the self-guided tour

Split Rock / Beaver Bay

• 1900s Pilings at the mouth of the Split Rock River, from the Merrill & Ring Lumber Company’s railway
• Split Rock Lighthouse, need I say more?
• Beaver Bay Cemetery, final resting spot of some of the original settlers of beaver Bay, the oldest [1856] community along the shore
• Grave of Chief John Beargrease, who ran the mail up and down the shore via dogsled [the Beargrease Sled Dog Race is named after him]

Silver Bay / Little Marais / Finland

• 1910 Tettegouche Camp on Mic Mac Lake, walk-in/ski-in , bike-in site within the state park; you can rent these cabins, too!
• Silver Bay, the youngest [1956] community on the shore
• Finland [MN} Heritage Site, set on the 1890 John ‘Pine’ homestead, includes a Fenstad log cabin, a log sauna, and the original Park Hill school

Schroeder / Tofte

• Father Baraga’s Cross, the symbolic granite cross replaces the wooden one Father Baraga erected in gratitude of his harrowing 1846 trans-Superior voyage
• The old Stickney Inn, a 1920s Tudor landmark that has also housed a boarding house, restaurant, general store, post office, gas station and meat market

Lutsen

• Lutsen Resort, established in the 1880s, the main lodge was built in the 1940s

Grand Marais

• 1880s Breakwall & Lighthouse
• St Francis Xavier Catholic / Chippewa Church
• 1896 Lighthouse Keeper’s Residence, now home of the Cook County Historical Society
• 1930s tug, Neegee, built in Grand Marais and used until the 1950s, it allowed commercial fishermen to venture further out into the lake
• 1896 Maple Hill Church, picturesque Swedish-style church [pictured at the top of the page]

Northeast to Grand Portage

• Five Mile Rock, used a distance marker by early travelers
• Naniboujou Lodge, 1929 lodge with famous Cree-inspired painting in the 80-foot dining hall and domed ceiling
• Sunken ship America, the bow is in a few feet of water in the North Gap; you can view the ship if you ride the Wenonah out to Isle Royale
• Archaeological excavations at modern-day Grand Portage National Monument, and the historic collections within the center