Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth is a town in and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 86,918. It is a seaport at the westernmost point on the north shore of Lake Superior, perhaps farther from the ocean than any other seaport. It is linked to the Atlantic Ocean via the Great Lakes and then either the Erie Canal/New York State Barge Canal or the Saint Lawrence Seaway.

History

Native American tribes had occupied the Duluth area for thousands of years. The original inhabitants are believed to be members of Paleo-Indian cultures, followed by the "Old Copper" peoples, who hunted with spear points and knives and fished with metal hooks. Around the time of Christ's birth, the Woodlands people, known for their burial mounds and pottery, occupied the area. They also cultivated wild rice, a crop that continues to be harvested today by tribes in the region and is often seen being sold in the area, especially in Wisconsin.

Related Topics:
Native American - Paleo-Indian - Old Copper - Spear points - Knives - Wild rice - Wisconsin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1679, the first white man known to visit the location of present-day Duluth and the city's namesake, Sieur du Lhut, arrived to settle rivalries between two Indian nations, the Dakota and the Ojibwe, to advance fur trading missions in the area. His work allowed for this to occur, with the Ojibwe becoming middlemen between the French and the Dakota. As a result, the area prospered, and as early as 1692, the Hudson Bay Company set up a small post at Fond du Lac.

Related Topics:
1679 - Sieur du Lhut - Dakota - Ojibwe - Fur trading - Middlemen - French - 1692 - Hudson Bay Company

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was not until 1792 that the next trading post, on the Wisconsin side of the St. Louis River, was opened by Jean Baptiste Cadotte of the North West Company. A fire destroyed the post in 1800, but a German emigree, John Jacob Astor, constructed a post on the river's Minnesota side. The store initially floundered as a result of the Indians' insistence n trading with established English and French partners. However, Astor managed to convince the United States Congress to ban foreigners from trading in American territory. His American Fur Company was re-formed in 1816-17. Hard times hit the post once again by 1839 due to fashionable Europeans choosing silk hats over those made from beaver pelts.

Related Topics:
1792 - St. Louis River - Jean Baptiste Cadotte - North West Company - 1800 - John Jacob Astor - United States Congress - American Fur Company

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Interest in the area was piqued in the 1850s as rumours copper mining began to circulate. A government land survey in 1852, followed by a treaty with local tribes in 1854, secured wilderness for gold-seeking explorers, a "land rush", and the development of iron ore mining in the area.

Related Topics:
1850s - Copper mining - 1852 - 1854 - Iron ore

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Around the same time, newly-constructed channels and locks in the East permitted large ships to access the area. A road connecting Duluth to the Twin Cities was also constructed. Eleven small towns on both sides of the St. Louis River were formed, establishing Duluth's roots as a city.

Related Topics:
Channels - Locks - Twin Cities - St. Louis River

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By 1857, copper resources were found to be scarce, and the area's economic focus shifted to timber harvesting. A nation-wide financial crisis led to nearly three quarters of the city's early pioneers leaving.

Related Topics:
1857 - Timber harvesting

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the late 1860s, a financier Jay Cooke (after whom the Jay Cooke State Park is named), convinced the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad to create an extension from St. Paul to Duluth. The railroad opened areas due north and west of Lake Superior to iron ore mining. Duluth's population on New Year's Day, 1869 consisted of fourteen families; by the Fourth of July, 3,500 people were present to celebrate.

Related Topics:
1860s - Jay Cooke - Jay Cooke State Park - Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad - St. Paul - Lake Superior - Iron ore - 1869 - Fourth of July

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The city thrived, and the area's hillside and downtown areas were populated by early residents. In the 1900s, the city's port passed New York City in gross tonnage handled, elevating it to being the the leading port in the United States]. Meanwhile, there were ten newspapers, six banks, and an eleven-story skyscraper, the Torrey Bulding, already present in the town. In 1907, U.S. Steel announced that a $5 - $6 million plant would be constructed in the area. Although it took eight years for steel to actually be produced, predictions held that Duluth's population would rise to 200,000 to 300,000. With the plant came Morgan Park, a once-independent company town that now stands as a city neighborhood.

Related Topics:
1900s - New York City - United States - 1907 - U.S. Steel - Morgan Park

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During much of the twentieth century, the city was an industrial port town, with a cement plant, nail mill, wire mills, the U.S. Steel plant. In 1916, during World War I, a shipbuilding plant on St. Louis River produced eight vessels simultaneously. A neighborhood was formed around this operation, today known as Riverside. Similar industrial operations were heightened during the Second World War. Population growth continued after the war, with a peak of 106,884 reached in 1960.

Related Topics:
Twentieth century - World War I - Second World War - 1960

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Due to foreign competition, the steel plant closed in 1971, presenting a major blow to the city. Other industrial activity followed suit, along with an air base. Within a decade, unemployment rates surged to 15 percent, emptying local stores and creating long job application lines.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With the decline of the city's industrial core, the local economic focus shifted to tourism. The downtown was renewed with red brick streets and skywalks, and distasteful warehouses along the waterfront were converted into cafés, shops, and restaurants, forming Canal Park as a largely tourism-oriented district.

Related Topics:
Tourism - Skywalks - Canal Park

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The city is a now a fairly popular Midwestern tourist attraction, and is a convenient base for trips to the North Shore via Highway 61, or to fishing and wilderness expeditions in Minnesota's far north. It continues to function as a regional hub for a large stretch of area encompassing northeastern Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin, and the western Upper Penninsula of Michigan. The population continues to decline, according to the U.S. Census and projections.

Related Topics:
North Shore - Upper Penninsula - Michigan - U.S. Census

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~