Duquette is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Pine County Pine County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,876. Its county seat is Pine City. The county was formed in 1856 and organized in 1872. Part of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is in Pine ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, United States; located along the Willow River. State Highway 23 (

MN 23 Minnesota State Highway 23 (MN 23) is a state highway that stretches from southwestern to northeastern Minnesota. At in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 1. This route, signed east–west, runs roughl ...

) serves as a main route in the community. The

Nemadji State Forest The Nemadji State Forest is a state forest located primarily in Pine County, Minnesota. A small portion of the forest extends into neighboring Carlton County. The eastern perimeter of the forest borders the state of Wisconsin. It is managed by ...

is nearby. Duquette is located along the boundary line between Kerrick Township and Nickerson Township. The communities of

Nickerson Nickerson may refer to: People *Nickerson (surname) Fictional characters *Coach Burt Nickerson, a character in the movie '' All the Right Moves'' played by Craig T. Nelson *Marty Nickerson, the main character, a fictional attorney, in the four bo ...

, Kerrick, and

Holyoke Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...

are all near Duquette. The small town of Duquette was named after Frank Duquette. Frank Duquette was head post master at the Moose Lake post office, then went on to start up his own post office in Duquette.

Community

Duquette is an unincorporated community in northern Pine County. Nearby is the Duquette Airport, a private, 1/4 mile grass airstrip. Duquette is the home of Jackie Berger Park; which includes campsites, ballfield, pavilion, tennis court, and fishing in the Willow River. The park was named after a local young man who died on

Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors designated for the amphibious assault component of operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. "Omaha" r ...

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

, 1944. A parking field for snowmobiles, offroad motorcycles or ATV's abuts the park.

History

Duquette is located along the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

on what was at one time the Great Northern Railway. It was built on an early native American village site located at the southern terminus of the Willow–Nemadji Portage; the first European settlers were French Canadians, among them was the entrepreneur Frank Duquette, who built a sawmill and store. Originally the village was named ''Kerrick'' until the Great Northern Railway depot was moved three miles south, keeping that name, and for a period Duquette was called ''Old Kerrick'', the new site being called New Kerrick; the names were corrected when the Duquette post office was established in 1905.

References

* Rand McNally Road Atlas – 2007 edition – Minnesota entry * Official State of Minnesota Highway Map – 2011/2012 edition {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Minnesota Unincorporated communities in Pine County, Minnesota