![]() ![]() This proved difficult when heavy loads such as railroad engines nearly sank the scows or tugs that carried them. Various locations were considered for the railroad terminus and shipping port, but Agate Bay was chosen because it was closer to the iron ore site and had a clay bottom bay, while most others were rocky.Īs the track was being developed, the main transportation route was Lake Superior. In Agate Bay (Two Harbors) most of the land was bought from Sexton, who by that time had owned the land for 20 years. The Minnesota Iron Company bought 17,000 acres (69 km 2) of land in order to build their railroad. Had it not been for the discovery of nearby iron ore, Two Harbors would not exist. There are several homes in "east" Two Harbors whose original structures were on Whiskey Row.ĭuluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway 2-8-8-4 "Yellowstone" preserved at Two Harbors station The railroad then simply evicted the tenants and moved any of the salvageable buildings inland. By 1885 the Minnesota Iron Company convinced Sexton to sell his remaining four acres along Agate Bay. The railroad rapidly expanded its rail and shipping operations and needed all of the shoreline for its new coal handling and storage facility. ![]() Whiskey Row's demise occurred the following year. It was reported that the merchants affected were in Duluth the next day purchasing materials to rebuild. There was a fire but it occurred before the first load of ore arrived in July 1884 and only seven buildings were damaged. The infamous four-acre plot earned the nickname "Whiskey Row", and was said to exist for the sole purpose of "relieving a man from his pay".Ĭontrary to popular myth, Whiskey Row was not destroyed by a fire in 1888. As with any frontier town of the day it was a largely male population. ![]() Sexton leased his remaining four acres to merchants seeking to capitalize on the 600-man workforce arriving to build the Duluth & Iron Range Railroad. The town's history is included in the Lake County Historical Depot Museum.īy 1883 the Minnesota Iron Company had purchased all but four acres of Thomas Sexton's land around Agate Bay. On February 26, 1907, the village reincorporated as the City of Two Harbors. Thirty-five logging camps were set up within the vicinity, one of them on Fourth Avenue. By 1886 the D&IR completed the Lake Division connecting Duluth and Two Harbors with passenger service that extended to Ely. It took one day to get from Duluth to Two Harbors. Early transportation to the village was by boats under contract with the new Duluth and Iron Range Railroad, and by horse. The village of Two Harbors was platted in 1885 but not incorporated until 1888. The village of Agate Bay was created with the construction camp as work on the new railroad began in 1883. Diets often consisted of homegrown vegetables and animals caught in the area (at that time there were many dense forests, so deer meat was not an abundant food source). Their homes were made of logs and had dirt floors. Early settlers lived in primitive conditions, which was common for both the area and time. The first residence constructed in Agate Bay was owned by Thomas Sexton (1854) it was a 14-by-16-foot shack. The village of Burlington along Burlington Bay was platted in 1856, first incorporated on it had a post office that operated from 1856 until 1862. In the early years Two Harbors consisted of two separate communities, Agate Bay and Burlington. ![]()
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