The Forest History Center is part of the Minnesota Historical Society's network of historic sites and museums. Located in Grand Rapids, Itasca County, Minnesota, on wooded acreage adjoining the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

, the Forest History Center provides learning experiences about the forests, logging industry, and forest conservation. The historical and changing relationship between the people and the forest is displayed through exhibits and films, demonstrations, a

living history Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...

lumber camp, an original 1934 fire tower, and nature trails. The Forest History Center has regular special events, and offers various programs for school field trips.

Features

Visitor Center

The Visitor Center is the entrances to the site. The building includes multimedia forestry exhibits of the earliest recorded history to modern times, has sensory displays for children, a small theater showing "Fire in the Forest" (a film about the 1918 Cloquet and Moose Lake fire), and a museum store.

Logging Camp

The Logging Camp is a re-creation of a typical

logging camp A logging camp (or lumber camp) is a transitory work site used in the logging industry. Before the second half of the 20th century, these camps were the primary place where lumberjacks would live and work to fell trees in a particular area. Many ...

of 1900. Buildings include a bunkhouse, cook house, blacksmith shop, horse barn, and outhouse. Costumed interpreters reenact logging camp processes as well as interact with visitors and tell stories. Visitors may choose to follow a tour, or use a self-guided brochure.

River Wanigan

The river wanigan is a 1901 replica of a floating cook shack and bunkhouse once used by river drivers when moving logs down river to the mills. Visitors may walk a short distance from the camp to the river where it is moored.

Fire Tower and Forest Service Cabin

Forest

Lookout Tower A fire lookout tower, fire tower or lookout tower, provides housing and protection for a person known as a "fire lookout" whose duty it is to search for wildfires in the wilderness. It is a small building, usually on the summit of a mountain or ...

is an original structure built in 1934 by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

, and moved on location. It is 100 feet high, and visitors over the age of six are allowed to climb it. The forest service cabin and tool shed are reproductions of what were used to house patrolmen and by fire fighting crews during the 1930s.

Trails

Surrounding the Forest History Center are three hiking trails, totaling five miles, that provide opportunities for wildlife watching. The Swamp Trail is an elevated gravel trail and boardwalk through a cedar and black spruce swamp and a

tamarack ''Larix laricina'', commonly known as the tamarack, hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch, or American larch, is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and als ...

bog. The River Trail has informational signposts for tree identification. The Forest of Today Trail leads through aspen stands, hardwoods, old-growth and red pine, and a plantation of genetically improved tree stands. During the winter
Northern Lights Nordic Ski Club
maintains a 4 km cross-county ski trail through the logging camp and virgin timber.

References

External links

Minnesota Historical Society: Forest History Center

Lakeland PBS Common Ground 416 - Grand Rapids Forest History Center
{{Protected areas of Minnesota History centers Minnesota state historic sites Forestry museums in the United States Museums in Itasca County, Minnesota Open-air museums in Minnesota Forest history Minnesota Historical Society