This undated postcard, from Gallagher’s Studio of Photography, shows an aerial view from Lake Superior of Twin Points Resort in the Silver Creek Township northeast of Two Harbors. The area is now known as Iona’s Beach Scientific and Natural Area.
The caption on the back of the card reads:
Twin Points Resort & Motel
Hiway 61 – On Lake Superior Circle Route
King-size beds for our tall guests. Fifteen modern housekeeping cabins on the shore of Lake Superior. Smoked fish, groceries, good food and Standard Service. Clean rest rooms and public phone booth. Located between Gooseberry State Park and Split Rock Lighthouse.
Phone Silver Bay 218-226-4717
P.O. Two Harbors, Minn 55616
A post on the blog Blue in the Distance notes Twin Ports Resort was founded in 1938 by Iona and John Lind. John died in 1976, after which their son Alden helped run the resort.
As the decades passed, Iona met hundreds of travelers, and many became her friends. By the age of 86, she was ready to retire. It was 1995 and Alden let it be known that the family wanted their land returned to the public. And so, in 1996, after a series of complex legal maneuvers and the efforts of a group of conservation-minded citizens, Iona’s gift was made.
By the time I discovered Iona’s Beach in 2009, the land that was once the home of Twin Points Resort had been a Minnesota Scientific and Natural Area for more than a decade. In the years following Iona’s retirement, the store and cabins were razed leaving few signs of the life she made there with her family. But the beach remains.
For then and now videos we first present Brian Klier’s video from August 1986.
And the modern-day video was shot by Dale Bohlke.
