Tower-Soudan Historic Sites

Tower’s first train depot, labeled on early maps as the “Tower Passenger Depot” was later referred to, from 1921-on, as the “Duluth and Iron Range Freight Depot”. This Freight Depot had been constructed sometime between 1884 and 1886 on the western edge of the town along what is now the intersection of Highway 169 and Cedar Street, with spurs running to the Soudan Mine for iron, and to HooDoo Point for timber.

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.

Ojibwe living in northeastern Minnesota had long been aware of the presence iron ore deposits in the region. They told blacksmith N.A. Posey about it in 1863, when Posey was living among them to teach them his trade at the request of the US government per treaty agreements. The Ojibwe gave samples of the region’s iron ore to Posey and he shared the samples with area surveyor and civil engineer George Stuntz.

The Stuntz Bay boathouses are unique historic resources that have provided leisure and recreation opportunities for Soudan miners and their families for several generations. The boathouses allowed the mine workers to take advantage of the area’s natural resources and beauty, a benefit actively promoted by the Oliver Mining Company to improve employee job satisfaction, and became an important asset in the everyday life of the miners who helped the Soudan Iron Mine prosper and thrive.