Minnesota Point, also known as the Park Point

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

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; is a long, narrow

sand spit A spit or sandspit is a deposition bar or beach landform off coasts or lake shores. It develops in places where re-entrance occurs, such as at a cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift by longshore currents. The drift occurs due t ...

that extends out from the Canal Park tourist recreation-oriented district of the city of Duluth. The Point separates

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

from Superior Bay and the Duluth Harbor Basin. Lake Avenue South / Minnesota Avenue serves as a main route in the community. Near the end of Minnesota Point is a small airport, Sky Harbor Airport. Beyond the airport, approximately 3/4 mile, is an old growth red and white pine forest. Within the forest is a

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or Minnesota DNR, is the agency of the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state's natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, recre ...

designated area, the ''Minnesota Point Pine Forest Scientific and Natural Area'', which encompasses 18 acres. Minnesota Point is approximately 7 miles in length, and when included with adjacent Wisconsin Point, which extends 3 miles out from the city of Superior,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, totals 10 miles.

History

Due to the short and easy portage across Minnesota Point, the

Ojibwa The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

name for the city of Duluth is ''Onigamiinsing'' ("at the little portage"). In the 1850s, the Saint Louis River was established as the border between neighboring states Minnesota and Wisconsin and the two ports Duluth (Minnesota) and Superior (Wisconsin) became fierce economic competitors for shipping traffic off of Lake Superior. As commercial traffic on Lake Superior increased with the completion of the Sault Ste Marie canal connecting Lake Superior to Lake Michigan, Congress appropriated the funds to build a lighthouse on the narrow opening in Minnesota Point, known as Superior Entry. The

Minnesota Point Light The Minnesota Point Light was a historic lighthouse on Minnesota Point in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, on the shores of Lake Superior. Built in 1858, it was the first lighthouse in the state, but is now a truncated ruined tower. The ruin w ...

, built between 1855 and 1858, was the first to use RH Barret's Fifth Order Fresnel lamp and Barret became the station's first lighthouse keeper, succeeded in 1861 by Samuel Stewart Palmer. This lighthouse was affectionately known by the name "The Old Standby." It is now an abandoned ruin listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Since the digging of the

Duluth Ship Canal The Duluth Ship Canal is an artificial canal cut through Minnesota Point, providing direct access to Duluth harbor from Lake Superior. Begun privately in 1871, it was put under federal supervision and maintenance several years later. It is still a ...

in 1870–1871, Minnesota Point is technically an island, connected to the rest of the city of Duluth since 1905 by the

Aerial Lift Bridge The Aerial Lift Bridge, earlier known as the Aerial Bridge or Aerial Ferry Bridge, is a landmark in the port city of Duluth, Minnesota. The span began life in 1905 as the United States' first transporter bridge: Only one other was ever constructe ...

Adjacent neighborhoods

* Canal Park and

Downtown Duluth The downtown of Duluth, Minnesota, Duluth, Minnesota, United States, is situated between Mesaba Avenue (Minnesota State Highway 194, Highway 194) and 4th Avenue East; and located on Michigan, Superior, First, Second, and Third streets. The downto ...

– to the immediate north

Notes

External links

City of Duluth websiteCity map of neighborhoods
(PDF)
History of the Minnesota Point Lighthouse
{{Authority control Duluth–Superior metropolitan area Neighborhoods in Duluth, Minnesota Peninsulas of Minnesota Geography of Duluth, Minnesota Spits of the United States Minnesota populated places on Lake Superior Duluth, Minnesota

History

Adjacent neighborhoods

See also

Notes

External links