Tower-Soudan / Lake Vermilion Area History
Caboose #73
The train cars at the Tower Train Depot Museum and City Park all tell the story of railroad life of the past. Of all the train cars, the caboose is one of the most popular attractions. “Kids of all ages” love Caboose #73 and the special stories it tells.
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The “James Tippet” – Tower’s 1891 Steam Fire Engine
After a series of dangerous fires and the ongoing threat to wooden structures in town with crowded lots and inadequate plumbing infrastructure, City of Tower officials decided in 1891 to purchase a modern fire engine built by the Ahrens Manufacturing Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio. The pumper was named “James Tippet” in honor of their first mayor, who had served the community since Tower incorporated as a city in 1889. Tower is the oldest city north of Duluth.
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Soudan Hospital History
“As near as I can determine, it was built in 1890 by the Oliver Iron Mining Company which was at the same time that the other company buildings were built, namely the mining office, the ore sampling building and the three large company houses which were built along the circle street near the hospital.
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The Soudan Band
The Soudan Band has a rich history that spans 50 years. The group had been playing as a unit since 1911, and is thought to have disbanded in the mid-1960s, after the closing of the Soudan Mine. It’s noteworthy that three members of the original band were still active in 1952, and speaks to the band’s strong sense of community and longevity.
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Soudan’s Only Store still surviving after 131 years on the Vermilion Iron Range
Soudan and nearby Tower Minnesota trace their roots to the early 1880′s and the start of the Soudan Mine which makes them the oldest Minnesota communities north of Duluth. The mine made a fortune for the Oliver Mining Company which opened its headquarters in a grand building just south of the operation in 1892.
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1915 Settler’s Cabin
The story of the cabin that sits among some cedars on the western side of Tower’s City Park is also the story of Mike Smulter, the man who built it.
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Sanborn Maps
Creative research can uncover a wealth of information in records that were intended to serve a different purpose, and historians often find valuable information from unexpected sources like the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps which depicted the commercial, industrial, and residential sections of more than 12,000 American cities and towns from ca. 1867 to 1970.
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First White Woman in Tower
The story of Mrs. Carrie Christina Bystrom is a testament to the resilience and courage of early pioneers who settled in the Iron Range area. As the first white woman to arrive in Tower in 1884 she faced numerous challenges in a largely unbroken wilderness.
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Isle of Pines Bridge
In earlier times, summer tourists disembarked from the Tower Passenger Station, made their way to the Tower Harbor and boarded passenger steam boats which departed regularly to hotels, resorts and cabins located on islands on Lake Vermilion. One such resort, known as “The Hotel Idlewild” was located on what is now known as Isle of Pines
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