SIA's 29th Annual Conference, co-sponsored by the St. Louis County Historical Society & the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board/Northern Lights Tourism Alliance, is scheduled for June 1 to 4 in Duluth, Minnesota. Also known as "The Finnish Riviera," "The San Francisco of the North," and "Head of the Lake," the port of Duluth, as the westernmost point in the Great Lakes chain, is a center for bulk transfer of coal, grain and iron ore. The conference will also include visits to sites on two of Minnesota's three iron ranges.
Note: Registration forms and conference brochures were mailed (first class postage) to all SIA members on April 7, 2000.
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The twin ports of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, located at the head of the Great Lakes, have played an important role in the history of the Upper Midwest. The abundant natural resources of white pine and iron ore have been exhausted, yet Duluth remains one of the largest grain shipping ports in the world. Many signs of tumultuous changes over the past 150 years remain, and a strong local appreciation of history makes Duluth an exciting place to visit. Insulated by the lake effect, Duluth has a balmy climate, feeling neither the fabled cold nor the blistering heat of the northern plains.
Nestled at the head of Lake Superior, Duluth is blessed with a natural harbor, St. Louis Bay, isolated from the Lake by a long strip of land, Minnesota Point. French fur traders in the 1650s, including Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Luth, in whose honor Duluth was named, were among the first Europeans in the area. A minor outpost in the fur trade, Duluth remained undeveloped until the 1850s. Although people had lived here for thousands of years, treaties signed with the Ojibwe in 1837 opened the way for European settlement. Rumors of vast mineral wealth brought surveyors, speculators, and great changes.
In 1853, the first ore was shipped on Lake
Superior, and two years later, the first Sault lock made the area
more accessible. A copper rush occurred in the late 1850s, but
a gold rush at Vermilion in 1865 jump-started the influx of settlers.
By 1890, when the Mesabi range was discovered, nearly 300 iron
mining companies were incorporated in
Minnesota. By 1900, the Mesabi range was the most extensive iron
ore field on earth. Immigrants from all over streamed to this
part of the country.
Transportation was difficult, and miners lived in "locations" developed by the mining companies near the mine sites. The many railroads serving the area were essentially industrial spurs. The Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad was the first to reach Duluth in 1870. Construction of the Duluth Ship Canal through Minnesota Point in 1871 gave Duluth the transportation edge over its sister city, Superior.
Commercial logging operations started in the 1850s. During the 1890s, Eastern lumber interests moved westward as the forests of Michigan were exhausted. Duluth reached its lumbering peak in 1902. Duluth is also the birthplace of the whaleback steamer, which was developed for Great Lakes shipping. Shipbuilding gained great importance during World War II, when more than 300 vessels were built in Duluth.
Not surprisingly in a port city with marked variations in topography, Duluth has a number of interesting bridges, particularly the 1905 Aerial Lift Bridge. This bridge crosses the Duluth Ship Canal to Minnesota Point, which also contains the original 1861 baseline monuments which were used to triangulate western Lake Superior.
As the importance of iron ore waned in the 1960s when high-grade ore became scarce, grain shipping took on greater importance. With the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, many international markets have been made available for grains in addition to wheat. Since the 1970s, larger railcars, more efficient elevators and other new technology has caused grain shipments to continue to increase.
Today, low-grade taconite ore is still the number one export, followed closely by coal from the western mines of the Powder River and Hanna Basins, with grain in third place. But the "industry" seeing the greatest growth is recreation and tourism. The town of Ely, for instance, home to the long-abandoned Pioneer Mine, is now better known as a gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, as the home of polar explorers Will Steger and Paul Schurke, and for its International Wolf Center.
We'll get a taste of it all at the SIA's Twenty-ninth Annual Conference. You betcha!
Most tours involve active businesses and rugged outdoor industrial areas. Hard-soled shoes and long pants are required. Hardhats and safety glasses are required for many of the tour sites and will often be provided by the host site. Members owning such safety equipment are encouraged to bring it along. Hardhats and safety glass are available to purchase as part of registration.
The underground mine tour
at Soudan will be damp and chilly. Please dress accordingly.
Average daily temperature for June is about
55 degrees F. Lake Superior has a dramatic effect on the weather
in Duluth and temperature variances between the lake and "up
on the hill" can be as great as 20 degrees. You have been
warned.
Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board
http://www.oakland.edu/boatnerd/museums/lsmma
Lake Superior Marine Museum Association is a nonprofit organization incorporated to assist the Canal Park Marine Museum in Duluth to provide informative programs for marine enthusiasts and historians.
http://www.duluthshippingnews.com
Duluth Shipping News provides articles and photos about ships and shipping in the harbors of Duluth and Superior. Interviews with sailors, shipboard photos and behind-the-scenes stories. Also stunning photos of the Aerial Lift Bridge rehabilitation.
http://www.duluthpreservation.org
Duluth Preservation Alliance home page includes a self-guided walking tour of the city's architecture.
http://www.d.umn.edu/lib/collections/nemn.html
The Northeast Minnesota Historical Center is a regional archive maintained jointly by the University of Minnesota-Duluth and the St. Louis County Historical Society for public research use.
Boat watching hotlines:
Boat watcher's hotline for Duluth-Superior: 218-722-6489
DM&IR Railway boat arrival update line: 218-628-4590
Midwest Energy Resources Company boat recording: 218-392-3737
U.S.S. Great Lakes Fleet Boat Recording: 218-727-3392
Mary Habstritt, chair; Larry Mishkar, publications;
Fred Quivik, paper sessions; Don Durfee, registration; Mary Ellen
Sjoberg, local arrangements; Marlene Pospeck, IRRRB; Jo Anne Coombe,
St. Louis County Historical Society.
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Information about registering: Don Durfee, SIA Headquarters Department of Social Sciences Michigan Technological University 1400 Townsend Drive Houghton, MI 49931-1295 |
Information about hotel: Radisson Hotel Duluth-Harborview 505 West Superior Street Duluth, MN 55802 |
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Information about paper sessions: Fred Quivik, SIA Program Committee, 2830 Pearl Harbor Road, Alameda, CA 94501. |
General Information: Mary Habstritt, Conference Coordinator 40 West 77th Street, #17B New York, NY 10024 |