Splitrock, Minnesota
Encyclopedia
Splitrock is an abandoned townsite in Beaver Bay Township, Lake County
, Minnesota
, United States
at the mouth of the Split Rock River
. It was inhabited from 1899 to 1906 as a company town
to house workers for a logging
operation. The site is now within the borders of Split Rock Lighthouse State Park
.
and white pine
. The lumber company controlled the town's harbor
, railroad, coal
dock, and store (which included a post office). Early maps show the community as Splitrock, Split Rock, Split Rock Point, or Waterville.
The company built a railroad 10 miles (16.1 km) long to carry cut logs down to the river mouth, where they were dumped into the water from a trestle platform. Although the railroad never connected to any other lines, it was incorporated as the Split Rock and Northern Railroad to qualify for a common carrier
tax break.. The logs were sluiced from a dammed area at the river mouth into the lake, where they were rounded up into rafts and towed to a sawmill
in Duluth
by the company's tugboat
Gladiator. Unusually, the Gladiator stocked carrier pigeon
s to carry distress messages to the company office.
By 1906 the operation had cut 200000000 board feet (471,947.4 m³) of lumber, netting a highly successful profit of $863,454. With most of the valuable timber gone, logging operations ceased and the town and railroad were dismantled the following year. The cutover land suffered further from multiple forest fires
. The only obvious vestige of the town are pilings from the wharf and train trestle, which was about 184 feet (56 m) long and 16 feet (5 m) wide, still visible jutting from the water at the mouth of the Split Rock River.
Lake County, Minnesota
Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 10,866. Its county seat is Two Harbors. Lake County was founded on February 20, 1855, as Superior County, though its name was changed on March 3, of that year to St. Louis County. On March 1, 1856, St...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the mouth of the Split Rock River
Split Rock River (Superior)
The Split Rock River is a river of Minnesota, USA. It drains a small watershed of about on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The name was used as early as 1825 and is believed to refer either to the steep-walled gorge carved by the river or to two cliffs east of the river mouth that appear split...
. It was inhabited from 1899 to 1906 as a company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
to house workers for a logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
operation. The site is now within the borders of Split Rock Lighthouse State Park
Split Rock Lighthouse State Park
Split Rock Lighthouse State Park is a state park of Minnesota, USA, on the North Shore of Lake Superior. It is best known for the picturesque Split Rock Lighthouse, one of the most photographed lighthouses in the United States...
.
History
Splitrock was developed as a logging camp by the Split Rock Lumber Company, a subsidiary of the Merrill and Ring Lumber Company. About 350 men worked in the Split Rock River valley felling redRed Pine
Pinus resinosa, commonly known as the red pine or Norway pine, is pine native to North America. The Red Pine occurs from Newfoundland west to Manitoba, and south to Pennsylvania, with several smaller, disjunct populations occurring in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and West Virginia, as well...
and white pine
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
. The lumber company controlled the town's harbor
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
, railroad, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
dock, and store (which included a post office). Early maps show the community as Splitrock, Split Rock, Split Rock Point, or Waterville.
The company built a railroad 10 miles (16.1 km) long to carry cut logs down to the river mouth, where they were dumped into the water from a trestle platform. Although the railroad never connected to any other lines, it was incorporated as the Split Rock and Northern Railroad to qualify for a common carrier
Common carrier
A common carrier in common-law countries is a person or company that transports goods or people for any person or company and that is responsible for any possible loss of the goods during transport...
tax break.. The logs were sluiced from a dammed area at the river mouth into the lake, where they were rounded up into rafts and towed to a sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
in Duluth
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
by the company's tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
Gladiator. Unusually, the Gladiator stocked carrier pigeon
Carrier pigeon
A carrier pigeon is a homing pigeon that is used to carry messages. Using pigeons to carry messages is generally called "pigeon post". Most homing or racing type varieties are used to carry messages. There is no specific breed actually called "carrier pigeon"...
s to carry distress messages to the company office.
By 1906 the operation had cut 200000000 board feet (471,947.4 m³) of lumber, netting a highly successful profit of $863,454. With most of the valuable timber gone, logging operations ceased and the town and railroad were dismantled the following year. The cutover land suffered further from multiple forest fires
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
. The only obvious vestige of the town are pilings from the wharf and train trestle, which was about 184 feet (56 m) long and 16 feet (5 m) wide, still visible jutting from the water at the mouth of the Split Rock River.