Get your Gunflint Trail history fix
Last weekend, the first snow of the season came down and stuck in the Gunflint Trail area. As temps dip lower and lower and the snow continues to swirl outside, it seems like a good time to spend the dark evenings pouring over some Gunflint Trial history. But with Chik-Wauk Museum and Nature Center closed for the season, what’s a person to do? Luckily, there are plenty of ways to enjoy Gunflint Trail history until Chik-Wauk reopens in the spring.
The local community radio station, WTIP, in Grand Marais often produces historical features pertinent to the Gunflint Trail. If you’re in the mood to sit back and enjoy Gunflint Trail history, you can check out either the History Speaks (the latest feature is about the history of Gunflint City, the Paulson Mine, and Port Arthur, Duluth, and Western Railroad) or the Legacy of the CCC features.
The Gunflint Trail’s youtube channel offers a bunch of snippets on Gunflint Trail life including this history piece.
The A Taste of the Gunflint Trail cookbook remains the “go to” resource for Gunflint Trail history.
Not only does the cookbook provide a great comprehensive history of the development of the Gunflint Trail road and businesses, the cookbook includes plenty of tasty recipes. If you have successful hunters returning home this time of year, you might try out Trout Lake Lodge’s Venison with Gingersnap Gravy.
Up here on the Trail, the GTHS and Chik-Wauk are busily transcribing a bunch of oral history interviews, thanks to a Minnesota Historical and Cultural Grant. The information in these interviews with Gunflint Trail ol’ timers will be used to develop future exhibits at the museum and will also be available to researchers. We’re pleased to be expanding our own historical offerings during these quiet winter months.