History
Postcard from the Same Old Place in West Duluth
This postcard image, touched up a bit from an eBay listing, shows The Same Old Place tourist information center and cabins at Fairmount Park in West Duluth. (more…)
Our Home in West Duluth
This photo is dated April 19, 1910 — 115 years ago today. It shows a house with two adults standing against a wooden fence and a child sitting on the fence. The image is from a postcard with writing indicating the house was in West Duluth. (more…)
The Many Conveniences of the St. Louis County Jail in 1925
The April 15, 1925 issue of the Duluth Herald featured several photos of the then-new St. Louis County Jail, part of the Duluth Civic Center. The paper called it “a model in jail construction” and compared it to a “first-class hotel.” (more…)
Postcard from Mining on the Range
This undated postcard shows an unidentified mine on Minnesota’s Iron Range, obviously not in Duluth despite what the caption on the front indicates. The card was published by the Souvenir Postcard Company of New York and Berlin.
Duluth Deep Dive #3: Bob Dylan and the Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub
Bob Dylan’s father leads a dance in Duluth, The Duluth Herald, October 28, 1931.
The free, open access, online Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub, supported by recently cut grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, lets you do your own deep dives into genealogy, the history of a home or business, or just about anything that has happened in Duluth or throughout Minnesota. This month’s deep dive shows you how the site works by using Bob Dylan’s Duluth family history as an example. (more…)
Postcard from Along the Rocky Shores of Isle Royale
This undated postcard, published by E. C. Kropp Company, shows a rocky shore at Isle Royale, about 150 miles northeast of Duluth. The fourth-largest lake island in the world was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a National Park on April 3, 1940 — 85 years ago today. (more…)
Bootleggers, bring out your kerchiefs!
One hundred years ago, the cellar of what was then the new St. Louis County Jail in Duluth, and now is the Leijona apartment building, was jammed with hundreds of confiscated moonshine stills. It was the time of Prohibition. The March 30, 1925 Duluth Herald reported that storing all the stills was becoming a problem. (more…)
Postcard from the Hotel Duluth in 1965
This postcard of the Hotel Duluth, now known as Greysolon Plaza, was mailed March 27, 1965 — 60 years ago today. (more…)
Postcard from the Voyageur Lakewalk Inn
Voyageur Lakewalk Inn was a Downtown Duluth lodging staple for about 60 years. It was demolished in 2022, along with the Hacienda del Sol and First Oriental Grocery buildings, to make way for the 15-story Lakeview 333 apartment building. (more…)
Chester Park Pharmacy and Garage open for business in 1925
One hundred years ago today — March 14, 1925 — Chester Park Pharmacy opened at 1328 E. Fourth St. Chester Park Garage was already open next door in the new building. The previous day’s Duluth Herald reported that preparations had been underway for months for the pharmacy at 1328 E. Fourth St., noting that the “last yard of linoleum” had just been laid on the floor. (more…)
Postcard from the ‘new Alworth Building’
This postcard was mailed 115 years ago today — March 10, 1910. It shows the “new Alworth Building” at 306 W. Superior St., which was indeed new; the postcard was mailed two months before construction of the building was completed. (more…)
John A. Blatnik Bridge construction photos circa 1961
A few photos in the Cliff’s Barber Shop Collection show the John A. Blatnik Bridge under construction, probably in 1961, the year it was completed. (more…)
Ida Tarbell spoke in Superior in 1925
Author and investigative journalist Ida Tarbell spoke at the Normal School in Superior 100 years ago today — Feb. 23, 1925. The Normal School is now known as the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Tarbell became famous for her series of articles in McClure’s magazine from 1902 to 1904 that later resulted in her book The History of the Standard Oil Company. Her revealing of the company’s strong-arm tactics led to the dissolution of its monopoly. She also wrote a number of biographies, including several works on Abraham Lincoln, which was the subject of her lecture in Superior. (more…)
Postcard from the Barney B. Barstow
There isn’t a lot of information online about the Barney B. Barstow of Duluth, featured in this undated postcard published by Gallagher’s Studio of Photography. But there are a few tidbits that suggest the vessel gets its name from a Superior attorney who, according to the June 1969 issue of Maritime Reporter Magazine, was one of eight directors at Fraser Shipyards, serving as secretary. (more…)
Greetings from Duluth, Minnesota
This undated postcard, published by Gallagher’s Studio of Photography circa the 1960s, shows the Duluth Harbor from Observation Hill.
The caption on the back reads:
Duluth, Minn.
Vessels from all the world’s ports arrive here after transiting the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes.
Skyline Parkway connection to Jay Cooke Park planned in 1925
The caption for this graphic from the Feb. 11, 1925 Duluth Herald reads: “Map showing extent of Duluth’s heritage at Jay Cooke park; road which has been completed so far in the district connection with the Duluth park system, and the 1.6 miles of road which it is hoped to complete this year if the state legislature appropriates $40,000 for that purpose. Completion of the road will give Duluthians a direct route to the park.”
Before Highway 210 connected Jay Cooke State Park to Highway 23, Duluthians had to travel a long, “dusty and sometimes tiresome road,” to get to the “picturesque and pleasing stopping place,” according to an article in the Feb. 11, 1925 issue of the Duluth Herald. (more…)
Postcard from the Riverview Motel circa 1955
This postcard shows the Riverview Motel in West Duluth, which was replaced in the early 2000s by Westgate Townhomes. (more…)
Postcard from Skyline Parkway Overlooking DM&IR Ore Docks
This undated postcard shows the DM&IR ore docks, which mark the border between Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, then known as the West End, and West Duluth.
Minnesota Land Surveyor’s Deathbed Confession, 1907
The text below is reproduced from a handwritten document that slipped out of a book of maps at the Minnesota Historical Society. Its authentication remains in progress.
I die happy seeing the completion of the Minnesota land survey, and the dissolution of the Office of the Surveyor General. He surveyed himself out of a job. We all did, the great work of our lives. It took five decades. But holes were chopped through the state that cannot be filled. I discovered a flaw in the measurements in the summer of 1855 when we were still just a territory. And I have knowledge of the disappearance of my hated competitor as he fell between the parallels, in the woods of what is now northeast Duluth.
Many surveying companies were employed by the Surveyor General. Mine was one and I was sworn in as a deputy surveyor. Rough work. We camped away from home for months, in 10-man teams: axe-men, chainmen, cooks, and muleskinners. Our families didn’t know if we were alive or dead until we returned (or failed to) for the winter break. (more…)
Great Lakes Now: A Different Perspective on the Fur Trade
Great Lakes Now interviews artist/historian Carl Gawboy about his book Fur Trade Nation: An Ojibwe’s Graphic History.
Plans for Arrowhead Bridge emerge in 1925
One hundred years ago plans were emerging to build what would later be called the Arrowhead Bridge, which spanned the St. Louis River from Grassy Point in West Duluth to Billings Park in Superior. Construction of the bridge was completed in 1927. It was dismantled in 1985 after the opening of the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge. (more…)
Duluth and the Solar Eclipse of 1925
Duluth was in the path of totality for a solar eclipse 100 years ago. Unfortunately, it was cloudy in the city on Jan. 24, 1925. (more…)
Postcard from Tugs Breaking Ice for Steamer Ireland
This undated postcard, circa 1903 to 1913, shows a tugboat next to the Steamer R. L. Ireland, which the caption indicates is “going to winter quarters, Duluth, Minn.” The Great Lakes bulk freighter was built and launched in 1903. According to the website Great Lakes Vessel History, it was twice renamed — Sirius in 1913 and Ontadoc in 1926 — and sold for scrap in 1970.
Duluth Salvation Army building has hit century mark
A small feature in the Jan. 10, 1925 Duluth Herald mentions the opening of the “new” Salvation Army at 118 N. Third Ave. W. The building still stands, now serving as an annex to Hostel du Nord. (more…)