It takes a village – to build a railroad

By Ken Buehler

Minnesota’s first discovery of Iron Ore was on Lake Vermillion. Following the Civil War there had been a gold rush to the area. But the “gold in them thar hills” proved to be iron pirate, a worthless, yellow mineral resembling gold. What was discovered instead were rich veins of hematite, a pure form of iron ore that was just what the new blast furnace technology in the Monongahela Valley was desperately craving to make steel.

Charlemagne Tower, a Philadelphia lawyer and capitalist, who bet on the winning side in the Civil War and prospered, was interested in opening a mine and building a railroad to extract the ore. Over the winter of 1880, his Duluth & Iron Range Railroad surveyed the shortest route between the mine, near a town now named Tower, and the shore of Lake Superior. It was 68 miles to Agate Bay, or as we know it today, Two Harbors.

Built as a company town, Two

Harbors was the starting point for the railroad. At the direction of Mr. Tower, the D&IR attempted to control the sale of lots in the new town of Two Harbors to insure their acquisition only by men who intended to build on them and live in the community. That didn’t keep out the speculators. Soon a shanty town sprung up with every kind of nefarious activity intended to separate the early railroad workers from their paychecks.

To put an end to this the Railroad set up the Township of Two Harbor in 1885. A church was established by Presbyterians in 1887 and the Town of Two Harbors was incorporated a year later. The Railroad made sure that in 1889 Two Harbors was named the Lake County seat, beating out Beaver Bay farther up the shore.

Two Harbors is a delightful North Shore tourist destination that was built by an historic railroad that is today a Canadian National RR property. The CN still brings iron ore to the ships that transport it to the waiting steel mills.

VILLAGE continued on PAGE 11

Monday: Roast beef dinner $7.95

Tuesday: Turkey dinner $8.95

Friday: Country fried steak & eggs $8.95

Country fried steak dinner $7.95

Featuring our own

• Homemade pies50 kinds!

• Cranberry wild rice bread

• Sourdough dinner rolls & hamburger rolls.

Two Harbors rich in railroad history, beauty

Remnants of Two Harbors railroad history are everywhere. The Railroad’s Pork City Hill area is now a very nice housing development.

The First Presbyterian Church remains the city’s oldest continuing congregation. To get the best view of the docks and the ore boats, take the short walk from the train station/museum to Paul Van Hoven Park.

Van Hoven was president of the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railroad (a D&IR successor) from 1944 for nearly 10 years. The park is built around the former D&IR general merchandise dock where the historic railroad tugboat Edna G. is docked today.

Railroaders smoked a lot of cigars. In 1900

John H. Kallin opened the Two Harbors Cigar Factory across the street from where Castle Danger Brewery is today. Demand for cigars skyrocketed to 30,000 a month. In 1907 Ed Sorenson opened his own cigar factory, also in Two Harbors.

The Railroad opened a Community Center

Camp House was built by the Railroad Y.M.C.A., mostly for the children of employees. This is from the third week of “Girls Camp” in 1937 taken in front of bunkhouse #2. Most of the children’s camp visits were paid for through a collection taken up from Railroad employees. On the first rainy day of camp youngsters wrote letters to the workers thanking them. The camp still exists today under different ownership. Lake Superior Railroad Museum Archives in 1898 that became affiliated with the Y.M.C.A. In 1923 the Railroad-supported Y.M.C.A. partnered with the Salvation Army and opened Camp House on George Lake, 35 miles north of town along the tracks of the D&IR. The camp was named after Francis E. House, president of the D&IR from 1901 to 1926.

Lighthouse Point was railroad property where the Coast Guard built the harbor entry light. It’s now owned by the Lake County Historical Society and operates as a popular B&B.

Your visit to Two Harbors is just a taste of what awaits you upon your return. For information on the area and lodging contact the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, www. lakecounty-chamber. com.