References on map read: Duluth is laid out on the head of Minnesota Point under the Town Site Law of 1844 for George E. Nettleton, F.B. Culver, O.W. Rice, William Nettleton and R.E. Jefferson owner and occupants of Town Site. Avenues and Streets are 60 ft. wide, Blocks are 400 ft. long by 200 ft. deep, Lots are 40 ft. front and 100 ft. deep. Upper Duluth to the left and Lower Duluth to the right of Pine Street. Pier at Portage St. is 25 ft. wide the "T" is 140 ft. front. The stone monuments on Pine Street govern the survey. Richard Relf, Surveyor. Horizontal Scale 500 ft. 1 inch, Perpendicular 250 ft. 1 inch.
R.B. McLean came to Superior, Wisconsin, in June of 1854 on the schooner "Algonquin." McLean recollects several trips along Lake Superior's North Shore, both before and after the 1854 Treaty of LaPointe, searching for veins of copper. He discusses early settlers on the North Shore, the first election in St. Louis County in 1855, the first mail route from Superior to Grand Portage (which McLean delivered), and the first cabins built in Duluth in the winter of 1854-55.
This map of Duluth and the surrounding area as of 1865 was drawn by R.E. Carey based on old records and memoirs. The accompanying booklet, also by Carey, describes historical sites in Duluth, which are number coded on the map. Sites include early houses, a sawmill, a schoolhouse, an early brewery, the Vermilion Trail, and a stone quarry.
This is a photograph by Paul B. Gaylord of the steamship "Quebec" of the Great Western of Canada company docked in Duluth's outside harbor next to Elevator A.
This photograph by Duluth photographer William Whitesides is taken from Point of Rocks looking east and shows much of downtown Duluth and the hillside.
This photograph by Caswell & Davy shows a steamship and a sailing ship docked at Duluth. Image is captioned, "Scenery on the Northern Pacific Railroad."
This photograph of the dalles of the St. Louis River is by Duluth photographers Gaylord & Thompson (Paul B. Gaylord, 1848-1936, and Edward A. Thompson, ca.1874-1938).
This photograph by Paul B. Gaylord and Edward A. Thompson shows the Clark House, Duluth's second hotel, which opened in July of 1870 on the 100 block of West Superior Street; it was destroyed by fire on November 16, 1881.
This photograph shows the Duluth harbor, ca. 1870, with paddlewheel steamers and sailing vessels, Elevator A, and the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railway depot.
United States Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, 42nd Congress, 2nd session
Date Created:
1872
Description:
This 62-page document, from the 42nd Congress, 2nd Session, reproduces letters regarding the digging of the canal that connected the Duluth harbor with Lake Superior in 1871. The first letter, from William W. Belknap, Secretary of War, describes the process that was followed to dig the canal. Following letters, often exchanged between engineers or politicians and J.J. Egan, city attorney for Duluth, contain a discussion of the legality of the canal being dug as well as a discussion of the building of a dike to keep the waters of the St. Louis River from flowing through the canal and filling the Superior, Wisconsin, entry with silt. (United States Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, 42nd Congress, 2nd session, no. 60 Senate Executive Document.)
Dr. Vespasian Smith was the third mayor of Duluth. Born Oct. 21, 1818 in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, he earned a medical degree from Western Reserve College in 1851 and practiced in Ohio and Superior, Wisconsin before moving to Duluth. In 1860 he received a government appointment to serve as physician to the Indians at the Bayfield Agency. It is said that there were no votes opposing his first election to mayor, in 1873, except his own. He was re-elected the following year. The financial panic of 1873 and dire financial circumstances of Duluth itself made for difficult mayoral terms, but he was said to have been a man of great common sense who was well suited to lead during such times. He also served on the State Board of Health for twenty years. Dr. Smith died in Duluth on Oct. 11, 1897.
John Drew, a successful businessman, was born in Connecticut in April 1817 and moved to Duluth in 1869. By the time he was elected mayor in 1876, Duluth was in a grave financial state. The city's debt was so large that in order to get any settlement, the city itself had to be dissolved and replaced by the village of Duluth. John Drew presided over this transition in 1877, and once the city had become a village he resigned his post as mayor. In 1879 Drew was again elected to office, this time as president of the village, and used his one year of office to help get Duluth back on its feet. He later enjoyed a successful furnishing and clothing business until his death on September 1, 1909. He had three children with his wife Emma H. Drew and was believed to be one of the oldest residents of Duluth when he died.
This photograph by Paul B. Gaylord from the 1880s or early 1890s looks to the south from Duluth's hillside to Rice's Point and shows the 1871 railroad roundhouse to the east of Garfield Avenue and the steeple of Second Presbyterian Church at 1515 West Superior Street.
Peter Dean was born in New York City in 1828 and worked in a number of professions in several towns around Michigan before moving to Duluth. He was elected to office twice, once as Mayor of the City of Duluth (1875) and again as President of the Village of Duluth (1880). Though neither of his terms lasted more than a year, he was well-remembered as an eccentric and good-hearted man who cared deeply for the community and its financial troubles. When he died on January 4, 1884, he willed most of his property to Duluth itself, however it was organized at the time.
This photograph by Paul B. Gaylord shows a view of Duluth and the eastern hillside taken from the Northern Pacific dock about 1880. This is a duplicate of "dul917-76-d888.9" and "dul917-76-d888.10."
This photograph by Paul B. Gaylord shows a view of Duluth and the eastern hillside taken from the Northern Pacific dock about 1880. This is a variation of "dul917-76-d888.6" and "dul917-76-d888.10."
This photograph by Paul B. Gaylord shows a view of Duluth and the eastern hillside taken from the Northern Pacific dock about 1880. This is a variation of "dul917-76-d888.6" and "dul917-76-d888.9."
This photograph by Paul B. Gaylord shows the wrecked hull of the tugboat "Amethyst," which was wrecked nine miles east of Beaver Bay about 1881, docked in front of Williams & Upton, contractors for river and harbor improvements, on Minnesota Point at Buchanan Street.
A description of the directory from the title page: A complete alphabetical list of business firms and private citizens; a classified list of all trades, professions and pursuits; a Miscellaneous directory of city and county ofices, public and private schools, churches, banks, incorporated institutions, etc. Sold only by subscription.
This is the annual report for the Duluth Public Schools for the 1883-1884 school year. This volume includes "Rules for the Government of Schools," a syllabi of subjects covered in each of the grades, and a list of the ten individuals who had graduated from high school from 1879 to 1883.
This photograph by Paul B. Gaylord shows the Merchant's Hotel, 202-204 West Superior Street in Duluth after a fire on February 28, 1884. The hotel was designed by architect George Wirth and built in 1882.
This is the annual report for the Duluth Public Schools for the 1884-1885 school year. In addition to the Treasurer, Clerk and Superintendent's reports, this volume also includes a report from the Drawing Master, Adolph Rudolph.
This photograph by F.A. Taylor shows the Duluth hillside from below Superior Street and between 3rd and 4th Avenues East; probably from the late 1880s, it shows First Presbyterian Church (built in 1870) in the upper left corner, at 231 East 2nd Street.
This color map of the layout of Duluth, Minnesota, in 1886, was carefully compiled from the official records and actual surveys, and drawn at a scale of 800 feet to one inch. It includes streets, block numbers, docks, railroads, public parks, and neighborhood divisions. Information about lot sizes and street widths is included.
This is the annual report for the Duluth Public Schools, for the 1886-1887 school year. This volume includes a catalog of all the books held in the high school library.
In addition to numerous photographs and some written history, this large book provides information on the town of Duluth, Minnesota, in 1887, including sections on the geographic situation, the harbor, the St. Louis River and water power, churches and schools, railways, the grain market, the Board of Trade, and banking. Photographs include many birds-eye views of Duluth, Rice's Point, grain elevators, the Exchange Building, the Duluth National Bank Building, the Duluth Boat Club House, the Board of Trade Building, the Fargusson Block, the Grand Opera House, the Hotel St. Louis, the Spalding Hotel under construction, and individual homes of R.S. Munger and John P. Johnson.
This early map of the Duluth area shows platted divisions and additions and includes a directory giving the location of government buildings, hospitals, businesses, schools, hotels, depots, docks, cemeteries, and churches.
This is the annual report for the Duluth Public Schools, for the 1887-1888 school year. The report contains detailed descriptions of the curriculum for each subject from first grade through high school.
This is the annual report for the Duluth Public Schools, for the 1888-1889 school year. At this point in time Duluth owned eleven schools and was making plans for Endion School, east of Chester Creek and enrollment was double what it had been in 1885.
This 1889 map of the Duluth area (including parts of St. Louis and Carlton counties in Minnesota and Douglas County in Wisconsin) was compiled and drawn from U.S. Land and Coast Surveys by R.H.L. Jewett. It was done at a scale of one inch to one mile, and includes roads, railroads, rivers, streams, and lakes.
John B. Sutphin was the last mayor of the village of Duluth and the first mayor of the rebord city of Duluth. He was born in 1848 in New Jersey, and he arrived in Duluth at the age of 20. He was elected as village mayor in 1886 and reelected to the same office in the newly restored city of Duluth one year later. He presided over the construction of a new City Hall to celebrate the regained charter. During his time in office Sutphin began Duluth's sewer system and fire department in addition to improving city and harbor infrastructure. He was also involved in quelling citizen unrest with regards to labor issues. Sutphin died in 1908 of kidney failure; he was survived by his only son Robert and his wife Anna Louise Anderson.
The first mayor of Duluth, Joshua B. Culver, was born on Sept. 12, 1829 in Armenia, New York. Culver first came to Duluth in the 1850s when he surveyed and plotted the town site. He fought for the Union in the American Civil War, where he rose to the rank of full colonel. He returned to Duluth and became a civic leader, elected as Duluth's first mayor after the community initially became a city in 1870. Culver was elected to a second term as mayor in 1882, but on July 17, 1883, he died while visiting Buffalo, New York. In addition to his role as mayor, Colonel Culver served Duluth as its first clerk of court, postmaster, and superintendent of schools, and founded the first steel plant. His portrait was painted by J.W. Trussler in 1889.
This is the annual report for the Duluth Public Schools, for the 1889-1890 school year. It includes the text of a legislative act fixing the boundaries of the Independent School District of the City of Duluth.
This 1890 atlas embraces the corporations of West Duluth and Lakeside and the platted lands adjoining; also acreage maps of the territory in the State of Minnesota, within a radius of about twelve miles, showing the property of the different land and improvement companies. The atlas shows houses, businesses, government buildings, schools, and churches. It includes an index of correct titles of all Duluth additions, divisions, and sub-divisions.
Horace B. Moore, born in 1843, was employed with a lumber company before his stint in public office. In 1885 he was elected almost unanimously as the village mayor. Although his time in office was short, only one year, he enjoyed several successful accomplishments, including a new mail delivery system and the erection of named street signs. H.B. Moore died on December 2, 1906 with no known wife or children.
Josiah Davis (J.D.) Ensign was born in New York on May 14, 1833, and he earned a law degree and began practicing law in Ashtabula County, Ohio. He married Kate Jones, but after ten years of marriage she died in 1868. By 1870, Ensign had moved to Duluth, and in 1872 he married Rose Watrous. He served as Duluth's city and county attorney and wrote the seminal work on the history of the Duluth Harbor development in the 1860s and 1870s. In 1880, Ensign was selected to serve out Peter Dean's incomplete term as president of the village, and he was elected in his own right to the office in 1881. He succeeded in expanding the borders of the village of Duluth and was elected to a second (non-consecutive) term in 1884. After his terms he served as a District Court judge for thirty-two years, including work as the first "juvenile judge."
This circa 1890 book contains about 70 photographs of scenes of Duluth, Minnesota. A four-page text at the beginning describes the city of the 1890s, including boulevards and drives, educational institutions, harbor and shipping, commerce and manufacturing, and railroads. Some of the photographs show the Paladio Building, the Board of Trade, Minnesota Point from the Spalding Hotel, the Phoenix Block, Central High School, the Hardy School, and residences of J.D. Ensign, Col. C.H. Graves, Robert C. Ray, O.G. Traphagen, and W.C. Sargent.
Marcus J. Davis, like many Duluth pioneers, was involved in the grain business and a stockholder in the Duluth & Winnipeg Railroad. He was not a native of Minnesota, being born in Oswego County, New York in 1841. He began his political career almost as soon as he came to Duluth, as he was elected alderman in 1874, the year he arrived. He was elected mayor in 1890 and began a crusade against the seedier aspects of the city, ordering saloons to close at 11pm and banning boxing. He also brought with him from New York plans for an aerial lift bridge, later built in Duluth. After his one term in office, Davis moved to Joplin, Missouri, though he was buried in Duluth.
This book of one folded sheet with ten plates that provide small drawings of Duluth buildings, including offices, factories, schools, churches, and residences. Images include the Masonic Temple Opera House, the Woodbridge Building, the Incline Railway, the Lyceum Theater, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, and homes of G.C. Hartley, A.T. Crosley, Charles D'Autremont, and E.C. Gridley.
"A Handbook of Information and Statistics Regarding The Metropolis of the Northwest, Illustrated with Original Engravings." The 1893 Year Book is a history of Duluth's progress for 1892. Topics covered include mines and mining, lumber, manufacturing, railroads, marine, education, and suburban Duluth. Photographs show Chester Terrace, the Burrows Block, Buffalo Flats, the Pavilion at the top of the Incline Railway, the Union Depot, the Masonic Temple, Sacred Heart Cathedral, and the coal docks. Also includes some interesting advertisements from local businesses.
Born on June 2, 1851 in Angelica, New York and well-educated in law, Charles E. d'Autremont, Jr. moved to Duluth on a whim in 1882 with his family. He soon began to make a name for himself, becoming county attorney in 1884 and running for state Attorney General in 1888. In 1892 d'Autremont was elected mayor and served two efficient but unremarkable terms. After his tenure he was heavily and successfully involved in mining throughout western North America. He died in Angelica, New York on July 25, 1919.
This book contains information on hunting, fishing, and other recreational activities in northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. It also includes railway and steamship timetables, a brief directory of local businesses and public buildings in Duluth and Superior, resorts and picnic grounds in Duluth and Superior, social clubs, points of interest to visit, and many interesting advertisements.
Sidney Luce, Duluth's second mayor, was born in Kingsville, Ohio, on September 19, 1819. He moved to the Duluth area in the mid-1850s and served as registrar for the U.S. Land Office. He built Duluth's first commercial structure, a warehouse at the foot of Third Avenue East at the lake shore, and helped found the city's first brewery. He was elected mayor in 1872, but resigned while still in office to return to Ohio. His portrait was painted by J.W. Trussler in 1896.
This 40-page book, published in 1897, describes the land and towns that lie on the route of the Saint Paul & Duluth Railroad. Chapters describe the route of the railroad; the counties the railroad passes through; various crops grown, including potatoes, grain, berries and small fruit, and dairying. The last chapter provides brief descriptions of some towns along the route, including Pine City, Hinckley, Finlayson, Rutledge, Willow River, Sturgeon Lake, Moose Lake, Barnum, Mahtowa, Carlton, Duluth, and West Superior.
Judge John R. Carey, an early settler on the north shore of Lake Superior, wrote this account of the history of Duluth and northern Minnesota until 1870. He describes early exploration of the area, the surveying of the town of Superior, missionary efforts in the area, early elections, the building of railroads, the development of iron ore deposits and interesting anecdotes about residents and events.
This April 1902 issue of "The Zenith" was published for the interest of merchants who deal in hardware. It contains advertisements for products available for purchase from Duluth's Marshall Wells Hardware Company. It includes an article, with photographs, about the Superior Ship Building Co. in Superior, Wisconsin; a review of the Visible Sholes Typewriter; essays on Store and Advertising Aids, and Little Tales of the Hardware Trade and tips useful for hardware businesses.
Trevanion W. Hugo was born in Boddinoc, Cornwall, England on July 29, 1848 but spent most of his youth in Kinston, Ontario. In 1881 he and his family moved to Duluth, and he soon became an alderman and president of the city council for eight years. In 1900 he was elected mayor by just five votes, and he held the office for four years. He was appointed mayor once again to finish Clarence Magney's term in 1920 but declined to run again in 1921. Outside of City Hall, he was a prominent member of the Masons, rising to the rank of grand chancellor of the supreme council of Scottish Rite Masonry. He died on February 27, 1923 of complications from influenza and was survived by two sons.
This booklet describes the planning and building of the Duluth Aerial Ferry Bridge in 1904-1905. Many photographs and drawings illustrate the progress and describe the working of the bridge. Details on dimensions, specifications, and costs of operation are provided.
Captain Ray T. Lewis, born in 1940 in Brunswick, Maine, was a man of the sea. He sailed around the world several times before eventually moving to Duluth in 1886, where he became a successful real estate businessman. In 1894 he was elected mayor, and he is reported to have been a very strict mayor. After his tenure as mayor, Lewis served in the state legislature twice. On a trip to his hometown he was involved in a carriage accident, and he died of his injuries on July 21, 1912.
Roland D. Haven was born the son of a carpenter on October 17, 1866 in Sudbury, Vermont. In 1883 he moved to Minnesota and worked as a carpenter in Northfield, St. Paul, and Minneapolis before reolcating to Duluth in 1889 and becoming a factory foreman. From 1894 to 1908 he worked with several companies in the manufacturing, tug, real estate, and farm implement businesses. He served two terms as alderman (and council president) beginning in 1902, and in 1908 was elected mayor. He served two fairly unremarkable terms, and shortly after leaving office he moved with his wife Belle to Silver City, New Mexico, where he died on April 21, 1930.
Born on Oct. 20, 1844 in Schleswig, a Danish territory, Henry Truelsen worked in a variety of trades before entering political life. As president of the Duluth Board of Public Works, he led a battle for public ownership of the city's water supply at a reasonable price. This role contributed to his populist candidacy for Duluth mayor and was referenced in a plaque affixed to the portrait's frame which read "Henry Truelsen, mayor of Duluth, 1896-1900. Through whose untiring efforts Duluth obtained its water and gas plant. Presented to the city by Thomas A. Merritt. The portrait was painted by David Ericson (1869-1946), a renowned portrait and landscape artist who lived in Duluth. In 1910 Ericson was commissioned to travel to Zenith, North Dakota, Truelsen's new home, to paint the mayoral portrait. Truelsen died on Dec. 4, 1931, in Los Angeles, California.
This report of the Board of Commissioners for Duluth, Minnesota, describes the city's parks, including improvements made during 1911 and planned improvements. The book includes photographs of some parks, including Lincoln Park, Congdon Park, Lake Front Park, Fairmont Park, and Chester Park.
This 1912 atlas provides eleven detailed plat maps showing Duluth streets, divisions, tracts, and additions. A key map in the beginning shows the location of each of the plat maps.
This history of the Duluth Diocese of the Catholic Church, which was formed in 1889 and embraced the counties of Aitkin, Becker, Beltrami, Carlton, Cass, Clay, Cook, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca, Kittson, Lake, Marshal, Norman, Pine, Polk, and St. Louis, includes short biographies of early missionaries in Northern Minnesota. It also has histories and photographs of some early Catholic churches, schools, orphanages, and hospitals, information on Indian missions and on the Sisters of St. Benedict, who founded Duluth's St. Mary's Hospital and four other hospitals in the diocese. The book also provides a list of priests who worked in the diocese from 1889 to 1914.
This typescript was copied in November 1926 from Alfred Merritt's original 1915 manuscript. The author described his family's experience on the north shore of Lake Superior from the time of their arrival via steamboat in 1856 until the year 1894, including accounts of pioneers, settlers and land claims, and the discovery of iron ore on the Mesaba Range. Merritt also addressed the creation and demise of the Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railroad.
This book provides a history of West Duluth before 1916 and a detailed look at business and industry active in West Duluth at that time. It includes many photographs and brief biographies of early settlers and photographs of homes, buildings, and industrial facilities, including the Zenith Furnace Co., the Island Creek Coal Dock Co., the Union Match Co., the Diamond Caulk Horse Shoe Co., the People's Brewing Co., and the Berwind Fuel Co.
Born in Camden, Ohio on October 11, 1867, William I. Prince was a very successful banker in Bessemer, Michigan. He was later elected mayor of Bessemer for three terms, after which he relocated to Duluth, Minnesota in 1902 to organize the City National Bank. In 1913 Prince became Duluth's first mayor under the "commissioner" model, which Prince helped to establish. His single term as mayor was unremarkable, after which he was heavily involved in the Duluth Chamber of Commerce. He died on November 11, 1941, leaving behind his wife Mary and two sons.
This 64-page booklet, published by the Minnesota State Board of Immigration, extolls the value of Northeastern Minnesota as a land ideal for agriculture and livestock. The booklet describes a fertile new country with unique conditions unparalleled elsewhere." It also describes "established railways and rich markets within its own borders; contiguous to the most populous cities between Chicago and the North Pacific Coast. The booklet describes the various crops that can be raised successfully and the projected profit per acre. Includes numerous photographs of farms and livestock.
Fort William, Canada Civic Tourist Bureau; Port Arthur, Canada Chamber of Commerce
Date Created:
1920 - 1929
Description:
This circa 1920s map of the Lake Superior International Highway between Duluth, Minnesota, United States, and Port Arthur and Fort William, Ontario, Canada, provides brief descriptions of towns and geographic features along the route, including Two Harbors, Silver Creek Cliff, Lutsen, Grand Marais, and Kakabeka Falls. The map includes photographs of sites such as Split Rock Lighthouse, Cross River, Arrowhead River, the Port Arthur Hotel, and Mt. McKay.
This booklet describes the steel and wire-making process at the Minnesota Steel Plant in Morgan Park in the 1920s. Topics include raw material for wire making, the galvanizing department, the barb wire and woven fence department, the wire nail department, and the steel plant. The booklet includes photographs of Morgan Park homes, the Lake View Store in Morgan Park, and one of the community's infant playgrounds. A small map of Morgan Park shows locations of steel plant offices, the school, churches, the hospital, and community garages.
Clarence Magney is better known as a judge than a mayor. Born January 11, 1883 in Wisconsin, he was a successful lawyer until his election as Duluth mayor in 1917. During his stint as mayor, Magney worked to preserve and increase Duluth's parkland and parkways. He resigned from this office on September 15, 1920 in order to take a post as judge of the District Court, where he served for 23 years. He then served as associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court from 1943-1953. He died on May 15, 1962, leaving behind his wife Lillian and their three children.
This 1921 street map of the Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, area includes streetcar lines, railroads, parks, schools, farms, cemeteries, docks, grain elevators, the Duluth-Superior Ferry Line, the Duluth Boat Club, and other details. There is a separate index for both Duluth and Superior.
Map of Minnesota's St. Louis County showing land Department Holdings, The Duluth & Iron Range Rail Road Company, and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company. Shows railroad land holdings, roads, trails, railroads, electric lines, forest reserve, hydrography, and survey grid. Scale: 1 inch = 3 miles.
"Doc" John A. McCuen, born on July 17, 1864 in Guelph, Ontario, was better known as the St. Louis County Coroner than as mayor. Elected in 1912, McCuen was the last mayor under the old aldermanic system of government. He declined to run for a second term, since that would have meant serving under the new commissioner model with less power. He remained active in civic affairs until his death on November 4, 1927.
Norwegian Students America Chorus; Normanna Male Chorus
Date Created:
1925
Description:
This program is from a concert in Duluth on June 1, 1925, at the Armory, by the Norwegian Students' America Chorus from the Royal Frederick University of Oslo, Norway. The program includes greetings from Duluth's Mayor Samuel F. Snively, photographs of the chorus and of the Normanna Male Chorus of Duluth, a brief history of Duluth, information on the Duluth-Superior Harbor, photographs of some Duluth landmarks and of the Duluth homes of some Norwegian-Americans, and many interesting ads from local businesses.
Jerome Cooley headed north from Minneapolis in about 1869. On his way north, he stopped in Hinckley for about two and a half years, started the community of Barnum, and made it to Duluth in the spring of 1873. This 99-page memoir comes from his recollections and stories he had heard about the early history of Duluth. He covers subjects such as the digging of the ship canal, sailing the north shore in the early days, Duluth hotels, early industries, the volunteer Duluth Fire Department, real estate, mayors, the election of 1876, schools, and some early characters.
This 1926 book contains 14 photographs of scenes on the highway between Fort William, Port Arthur, Canada, and Duluth, Minnesota, United States of America. Photographs include the High Falls at Pigeon River, the Tofte Tourist Campground, the Temperance River, the Manitou River Bridge, and Silver Creek Cliff.