JOURNEY TO THE PAST
Lake Superior’s Historic Maritime Locations By Rae Poynter
Agate Bay in Two Harbors has been a shipping port since the 1880s. | SUBMITTED
In a region so defined by Lake Superior, it is no wonder that the North Shore is steeped in maritime history. From birchbark canoes to modern freighters and everything in between, traversing Lake Superior has been essential to the livelihoods of the many people who have called this place home. While every inch of the shoreline may be connected to maritime history in some way, here are a few places to stop to learn more about the region’s seafaring past.
Duluth’s Canal Park When the State Lock at Sault Ste. Marie opened in 1855, Lake Superior opened up to ship traffic from the rest of the Great Lakes. As northern Minnesota was so rich in natural resources such as iron ore and timber, this made Lake Superior a prime highway to ship iron from Minnesota to steel mills in Detroit and along the East Coast. The Duluth canal was dug in 1871 to allow ships to access the Duluth harbor. However, the creation of the canal cut off access to Park Point, meaning people had to access Park Point by ferry. To solve this problem, the precursor to the Aerial Lift Bridge–the Aerial Ferry Bridge–was com18
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pleted in 1905, and brought cars to and from Park Point on a gondola. However, this design was not able to keep up with traffic, and the bridge was converted to the current lift bridge design in 19291930. Visitors to Canal Park can visit the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center to learn all about the Twin Ports’ maritime history, and can watch ships entering and exiting the harbor under the lift bridge. Nearby, the William A. Irvin gives a glimpse into life on an ore boat, with tours taking guests aboard to see what being on a freighter is really like. Across the highway, the St. Louis County Historical Museum has more information about the history of Duluth, including the USS Duluth display that has the 19-piece silver set from the ship.
NORTHERN WILDS
Agate Bay, Two Harbors
Coast Guard, and in the late 1980s the light became automated by the Coast Guard station in Duluth.
At Agate Bay, visitors can catch a glimpse of Lake Superior’s past and present maritime activity. Agate Bay has been a shipping port since the 1880s, when the Duluth and Iron Range Railway needed to transport the iron ore mined inland to Lake Superior where it would be shipped out to become steel. The bay is still the site of operating loading docks.
Today, the Lighthouse Museum is open to guests as a museum and as a bed and breakfast, though it is still considered an active navigational aid.
Also in Agate Bay is the Edna G, a tugboat built in 1896 to help ore freighters in and out of Agate Bay. Called “the tug that helped build America,” the Edna G pulled ships and broke ice until her retirement in 1981. Now owned by the City of Two Harbors, the Edna G is on the National Register of Historic Places, and the nonprofit Friends of the Edna G is championing a restoration effort.
On November 28, 1905, a dangerous storm blew across Lake Superior, either damaging or completely destroying almost 30 ships across the lake, including four ships near where Split Rock Lighthouse currently stands. The need for a lighthouse was evident, and the owner of the four ships–the Pittsburgh Steamship Company–began to lobby for a light station to be built on what was then called Stony Point. The lobbying efforts paid off, and Split Rock Lighthouse was completed in 1910. Since its completion, no ships have sunk off of its shores.
Crowning Agate Bay is the Two Harbors Lighthouse, Minnesota’s oldest operating lighthouse. After Agate Bay’s loading docks were built, the U.S. Lighthouse Service and the Vessel Owners Association asked that a lighthouse be built to help guide the ships entering and exiting the bay. Construction was completed in 1892, and the first lightkeepers moved in. The light was lit by oil until 1921, when it was changed to electricity. Eventually the U.S. Lighthouse Service merged with the U.S.
Split Rock Lighthouse
The light station included the lighthouse itself, along with living quarters for the lightkeepers, a fog station, and storage buildings. Until 1924 there was no road to the lighthouse, meaning that the lightkeepers had to access the site by boat. (As did the builders constructing the lighthouse!) Once the road opened, Split Rock
