Moose Lake station in Moose Lake, Minnesota, United States, is a depot built in 1907 by the Soo Line Railroad. The building was one of the few buildings that survived the 1918 Cloquet Fire, and it was used to provide shelter for those left homeless in the fires. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 as the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Sault Ste. Marie Depot. The railroad first built a depot in this location in 1873. The 1918 Cloquet Fire started on October 12, 1918, with a background of a hot, dry summer, followed by a fall with little rain. The fire started on a windy day when a spark, possibly thrown from a passing train, ignited nearby brush. Much of the area, from

Sturgeon Lake Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous, and are descended from other, earlier acipenseriform fish, which date back to the Earl ...

to Moose Lake, Cloquet, and close to Duluth, was devastated by the fire. It killed 453 people, and 52,000 homes were destroyed. The

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

housed the homeless in "fire shacks". The residents of Moose Lake decided to rebuild the community. Passenger train service to the Moose Lake station ended on May 16, 1959, when trains 64 and 65 were discontinued between Duluth and

Thief River Falls Thief River Falls, sometimes referred to as Thief River or abbreviated as TRF, is a city in Pennington County in the northwest portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 8,749 at the 2020 census. Thief River Falls is the county ...

. However, mixed train service between Glenwood and

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places *Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lake ...

through Moose Lake continued until at least 1962. The depot now serves as the Depot and Fires of 1918 Museum that tells the stories of the tragedy and the heroism brought out by the fire. The museum is operated by the Moose Lake Area Historical Society. The Soo Line tracks are now gone, replaced by a recreational trail, the Soo Line Trail.

References

External links

Moose Lake Area Historical Society
{{National Register of Historic Places Buildings and structures in Carlton County, Minnesota Former Soo Line stations Museums in Carlton County, Minnesota History museums in Minnesota Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Railway stations in the United States opened in 1907 National Register of Historic Places in Carlton County, Minnesota Former railway stations in Minnesota 1907 establishments in Minnesota Transportation in Carlton County, Minnesota Natural disaster museums Firefighting in Minnesota Railway stations in the United States closed in 1959