Knife River is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Lake County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, United States; located on the North Shore of

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

. The community is located between

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

and Two Harbors on the North Shore Scenic Drive ( County 61), at the mouth of the Knife River, from which it gets its name. Knife River is located 8 miles southwest of the city of Two Harbors. The boundary line between

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

and Saint Louis counties is nearby. Knife River is located within Lake No. 2 Unorganized Territory of Lake County.

History

The community of Knife River was originally established in 1856 as ''Buchanan'', located on the west side of the

Knife River The Knife River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 120 mi (193 km) long, in North Dakota in the United States. Knife is an English translation of the Native American name. It rises in west central North Dakota, in ...

. A separate community of ''Mellie'', located on the east side of the river was platted in 1899 following the building of the Alger–Smith Lumber Company's railroad in 1898; Mellie changed its name to Knife River in 1903. The two communities incorporated themselves as the village of Knife River on October 2, 1909; but since have returned to being an unincorporated community. The SS ''Benjamin Noble'' foundered off Knife River in April 1914, with the loss of all hands.

References

Former municipalities in Minnesota Unincorporated communities in Minnesota Unincorporated communities in Lake County, Minnesota {{LakeCountyMN-geo-stub