Posted in Minnesota Nature, State Parks February 08, 2023 by

This Historic Minnesota Ghost Town Could Be Home To The Next State Park

Taconite Harbor is a former mining community on the north shore of Lake Superior that was abandoned in the 1980s – now a ghost town, with its location and history, we think it would be excellent as the next Minnesota state park.

The ghost town of Taconite Harbor lies within the southwestern part of a small triangle carved out of otherwise public land. The community of Schroeder occupies the northern portion of the 2-mile by 2-mile by 2.5-mile area.
Google Maps
The area directly abuts the Finland State Forest, the Superior National Forest, and Temperance River State Park.
Taconite Harbor was a community of prefabricated houses built in 1959 to house workers at the adjacent Cliffs Erie taconite loading facility.
Google Street View
The last of the houses was removed in 1988, and all that remains are foundations, overgrown pavement, streetlights, and a basketball court.
The loading facility ceased operations in the early 1990s.
Michigan Sea Grant/Wikimedia Commons
It had a brief revival as a coal-burning power plant, but it, too, was permanently idled by 2020.
The DNR built a small craft harbor on Lake Superior, adjacent to the plant, in 2001.
bryan byerley/Google
It also installed several interpretative displays about the history of Taconite Harbor.
bryan byerley/Google
Thus, the DNR is already involved in managing a portion of the area, as it does six other state parks on the Lake Superior shoreline.
A portion of the paved Gitchi Gami State Trail already runs through Temperance River State Park to the adjacent town of Schroeder.
David Speidel/Google
It is anticipated that a segment will also run through Taconite Harbor.
Scenic Two Island River, which has two waterfalls within a mile of the site, runs directly through Taconite Harbor, where it meets Lake Superior.
Google Street View
It crosses the Superior Hiking Trail in the nearby highlands. The SHT, itself a segment of the North Country National Scenic Trail, is located within two miles of Taconite Harbor.
The DNR has a history of turning abandoned mines and mining camps into state parks. In fact the latest addition to the system, Soudan Underground Mine - Lake Vermilion State Park is just such a park.
T W/Google
Iron ore mining is a large part of the state's history, which is why so many parks commemorate the industry, including ​​Hill Annex Mine State Park and Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area.
Furthermore, the DNR and the Minnesota Historical Society have combined to manage former ghost town sites, as well.
Historic Forestville/Google
Like historic Forestville in ​​Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park.

Thus, Taconite Harbor has a history related to the state’s iron ore industry, Lake Superior frontage, and a scenic river with nearby waterfalls, as well as proximity to both a state trail and a national scenic trail. The site contains just the types of features – in fact, combines several of them – that have been transformed into state park units. Finally, it is surrounded by adjacent, publicly-protected land and is already home to considerable DNR infrastructure and management.

Therefore, we think Taconite Harbor would be perfect as Minnesota’s next state park – don’t you?

Have you visited Taconite Harbor’s ghost town? What other places in the Land of 10,000 Lakes would be good candidates for Minnesota’s next state park?

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Address: Taconite Harbor, MN 55613, USA