Winston City

Shortly after the Civil War military veterans and others wanting to strike it rich heard about the discovery of gold on Lake Vermilion. They all rushed to the area via the rugged Vermilion Trail that ran north out of Duluth. There is a marker to the west of what is now Tower, Minnesota that shows where hundreds of gold prospectors arrived to make their fortune in gold.

Once there, the prospectors created an instant rough-and-ready town that was known as “Winston City”. The community, initially comprised of hastily built log cabins and shacks, sprang up In short time the community became a town and by 1866, it boasted several stores, a hotel, four saloons and a post office.

Unfortunately for the prospectors, gold was not found in quantities sufficient to cover the cost of mining. In 1867 the disappointed miners deserted their gold diggings and in a short time Winston City became the first ghost town of the Vermilion Range.

Winston City was located three quarters of a mile NE of 47° 47.233′ N, 92° 21.567′ W. in Tower, Minnesota, in Saint Louis County. An historic marker designates the location at the intersection of County Road 526, off of Minnesota 169 (State Highway 169), on the right when traveling west on County Road 526, off of Minnesota 169.

Credits

St. Louis County Historical Society, St. Louis County, MN 1973

Tower-Soudan Historical Society, Tower, MN 1973