Marcell 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 ...

in Marcell Township,

Itasca County Itasca County (pronounced eye-ta-ska) is located in the U.S. state, State of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 45,014. Its county seat is Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Grand Rapids. The county is named af ...

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. Minnesota State Highways 38 and 286 are two of the main routes in the community. Marcell is located 28 miles north of

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

. The community is located within the

Chippewa National Forest Chippewa National Forest is a National Forest located in north central Minnesota, United States, in the counties of Itasca, Cass and Beltrami. Forest headquarters are located in Cass Lake, Minnesota. There are local ranger district offices i ...

. Nearby places include Bigfork, Talmoon,

Bowstring A bowstring joins the two ends of the bow stave and launches the arrow. Desirable properties include light weight, strength, resistance to abrasion, and resistance to water. Mass has most effect at the center of the string; of extra mass in th ...

, Deer River, and

Effie Effie is a feminine given name, sometimes a short form (hypocorism) of Euphemia (Greek: Εὐφημία). Notable people with the name include: Women * Effie Bancroft (1840–1921), English actress and theatre manager * Effie Boggess (1927-20 ...

. Despite its unincorporated status, Marcell appears on most more detailed maps of Minnesota due to the presence of several locally important businesses and the lack of larger communities in the surrounding area. In addition, it has its own post office with the ZIP code 56657.

History

Marcell was founded under the name ''Turtle Lake'' in 1905. The name was changed to ''Marcell'' the following year due to a name conflict with other communities named ''Turtle Lake''. The name Marcell is in honor of Andy Marcell, a conductor on the former

Minneapolis and Rainy River Railway The Minneapolis and Rainy River Railway was a long American short line railroad used primarily for logging activities in northern Minnesota in the early 20th century. It was incorporated on July 20, 1901 and was owned by the Itasca Lumber Compa ...

, who was involved in a railway accident in the area. The site of the town center was originally at a store operated by John Lundeen on Big Turtle Lake, but was moved in 1910 to its present location near the railway.

References

* Rand McNally Road Atlas – 2007 edition – Minnesota entry * Official State of Minnesota Highway Map – 2011/2012 edition

History

References

Further reading