The Historic Tower Fire Hall

An important part of what gives a city character and a sense of community is its history. One way of acknowledging this history is by preserving historic buildings and structures. The Tower-Soudan Historical Society’s successful management of the city-owned Train Depot Museum and train cars set the scene for the TSHS to take on a new project in 2015. The decision was made to acquire and restore Tower’s Historic Fire Hall, located in the heart of downtown, in order to preserve another piece of our heritage and sense of place. 

The Historic Fire Hall Story

The fire hall on Tower’s Main Street is actually the second one built in Tower. The brick building that now stands in the center of Tower was built after the city’s first wood-constructed fire hall burned down. Fire had been an ongoing threat in this town comprised of wooden structures crowded together with an inadequate water supply and the original fire hall was no exception. City growth and the need for civic organization brought forth demands for a more permanent fire hall, city government offices, and improved law and order. In 1895, Tower erected a civic building that was much more than a fire hall.  It also housed the city hall, the town safe, the police station and two jail cells in addition to the fire station. Tower’s Historic Fire Hall, as it is now known, is the oldest standing public building north of Duluth. It is the first permanent civic building built on the Iron Range.

The city wisely chose brick as the building material for the “new” civic building they constructed to replace the old fire hall that had burned down. They used bricks from a small brickyard in Soudan known locally as Brick Pond.  A cement-parged, below-grade cistern was dug below the fire hall section of the building to hold 30,000 gallons of water. The cistern was kept filled with water to fight fires. Using a 1500-foot, four-inch pipe that extended from the building, water was pumped out of the East Two River into the cistern. This cistern still exists as the building’s 10-foot-deep basement.

The iconic “James Tippet” steam-powered fire engine (ca 1891) was housed behind massive doors that opened to let it out and rush it to a fire. The bell in the tower atop the building’s roof was attached to a rope and used to announce a fire and, importantly, to notify nearby livery stables of the need for two horses to pull the Tippet to the fire scene. The first team of horses that arrived got the job for $5.00.

The building was used as Tower’s community center for social activities for many years after the building’s city hall and jail rooms were relocated in 1935. The building continued as a fire hall until 1965 when the new Tower Fire Station was erected. After that, parts of the building were used for storage. In the late 1970’s when a new Civic Center was constructed, the city no longer needed it for storage and sold the building to a private party who in-turn leased it to various businesses. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 for its significance in the theme of social history.

The Tower-Soudan Historical Society purchased the building in 2015, as the building remained vacant for almost eight years, from 2008 to 2015, and, during that time was on the real estate market for over 3 years before being removed in 2014 with no bona-fide offers to purchase. The community had a great fear that if something was not done with the building it would become another blighted, tax forfeit building in the heart of the downtown section of an old historic city, and eventually demolished.

The Restoration Begins

With a matching Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation grant, the Tower-Soudan Historical Society engaged a consultant to conduct a building conditions and acquisition feasibility study.  The study supported that it was a structurally sound building but would require extensive restoration and repair.  The TSHS business plan supported its sustainability. However, the Board was cautious and deliberate in its decision to purchase the fire hall, carefully considering the short-term obligations and long-term commitment to property ownership.  With financial support of $52,000 provided by the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board, the TSHS purchased what we now know as The Historic Fire Hall in December, 2015. Construction documents were drawn in 2017 and historic architect firm, MacDonald and Mack Architects, was retained to manage the restoration work, which started in 2019.

Why This Building Matters

The Historic Fire Hall matters as a special place in the community that evokes memories and reminds us of who we are as historic characters. The immigrants who came to work the mines and their families give the Iron Range its cultural heritage. The knowledge and accomplishments of all those past generations are part of our collective heritage. 

It contributes to our sense of place – it opens a connection that is felt by folks residing in Tower as well as those who moved away but return to Tower to visit or to live in retirement. Historic buildings create a direct connection to our past that allows residents and visitors to personally experience where history happened first hand and promotes respect for those who lived in different times under different circumstances.  The Historic Fire Hall especially preserves many aspects of our area’s history and beginning of the iron ore industry which has had a lasting impact on our region and helped to shape our cultural identity.

The Tower Fire Hall was a pivotal resource in the early development of the Tower-Soudan-Lake Vermilion community. This building matters to the residents as it still has relevance and real-life links between the past and the present.  The building’s unique features tell us a story of the early years of Tower’s development as the first mining boom town on the iron range. The original city hall safe, in pristine condition, calls to mind the early years of Tower and its incorporation as the first city on the Range. The police station and two jail cells with their original cell bars take us back to times of lawlessness on the Vermilion Range in its infancy.

This Historic Fire Hall, along with the Soudan Underground Mine State Park, Duluth and Iron Range Railroad Passenger Station, and the Stuntz Bay Historic Boathouse District, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The story of its relationship with these landmarks and its connection with the early history of iron ore mining, railroad development, initial resort and tourism growth, and our heritage needs to be told.

The Tower-Soudan Historical Society feels fortunate to have this chance to restore the Historic Fire Hall:  it is irreplaceable. Once it’s gone it’s gone forever. That is why it is being restored.

The Future: History Education Event Center

Today the City of Tower and Town of Breitung (Soudan) and the surrounding township lake communities comprise a growing and vibrant area, crucial to the economic health of the region. Community leaders in public and private organizations in the Tower/Soudan/Lake Vermilion area are launching initiatives focused on enhancing and expanding cultural and educational attractions to increase tourism and stimulate economic growth. It is important to share with residents, students and visitors the story of community life on the Vermilion Range.

The Tower Soudan Historical Society is leading the effort to restore the Historic Fire Hall and transform it into a History Education Event Center.  As such it will increase social participation, build social capital, and revitalize Tower’s Main Street.  Multiple uses are planned for the Center:

• Initiate high-quality local historical and cultural programming and exhibits, year-round
• Offer educational opportunities for all ages
• Serve as a Tourist Information Center
• Display the “James Tippet” steam fire engine as the featured permanent exhibit
• Provide a place for community services and programs
• Provide a unique venue for pop-up events, receptions, weddings, workshops, meetings, dining, vintage sales, History Talks, book talks, and more
• Showcase local artisans’ products and artwork
• Provide year-round office space, thus increasing the business presence on Tower’s Main Street
• Offer a gathering place in a venue unlike others in the local community or in the Greater Lake Vermilion area

Restoration Progress

Follow our restoration progress on Facebook – Tower-Soudan Historical Society!