Swan River Logging Company
Encyclopedia
The Swan River Logging Company was established in 1892 along the confluence of the Swan
and Mississippi River
s near Jacobson, Minnesota
.
A landing had been in use for many years, taking travelers to farmsteads and towns all along the way. The steamboats used cord wood to fuel the vessels. Seeing an opportunity, Ammi Wright and Charles Davis, loggers by trade, thought the location would be ideal for a logging base camp and railroad terminus. It was determined piers could be built, and logs dumped into the Mississippi River. The logs would then drift to the sawmills lower on the river. Though most of the timber near the river had already been cut by 1890, the two solved the problem by constructing a railroad up into the high elevation timberlands of the Gardner and Hibbing
areas. Spurs went out to various stands of timber. The logs were sent down to Mississippi Landing and dumped off the cars into the river. During the season they were able to haul about 500,000 feet per day." (Hibbing Sentinel ~ May 21, 1898)
The Company's base camp at the Mississippi Landing became a village. A machine and repair shop and an eight stall engine house were built. It was a company town, equipped with a company office, general manager's house, ice house, boarding house
, railroad boarding house, turntable, roundhouse, machine shop, car shop, casting house, harness room, cattle barn, hog pen, sawmill
, warehouse
s, coal bins, roothouse, store, school house
, coal dock, pumping house, water tank, boathouse, sand house, and several cottages.
Supplies and materials for the construction of the camp were brought from Duluth
on the Duluth & Winnipeg Railroad to Swan River, then down the Wright and Davis Railroad to Mississippi Landing. Some materials and equipment came by riverboat
. The railroad was built with all the modern equipment, including telegraph lines connecting the various stops.
Logging took place in the winter, and the logging horses were brought down to the landing and kept there during the summer months. Some were badly crippled from the rough winter work and were destroyed. A horse graveyard was established near the junction of Highways 65 and 200.
Accidents while logging were common and at times fatal. Many were buried in a cemetery set up north of the landing. The Swan River Logging Company built a board fence around the cemetery.
The company discouraged any other towns in the area. It owned the land around the terminus and would not sell lots to any person for any purpose whatever. They even put a fences around the town far out in the countryside, effectively prohibiting any other town from the railroad and steamboat landings. People living outside of the town had to go down the Mississippi River a distance of two miles to connect with a steamboat.
In 1908, the Great Northern Railway leased the tracks to the Mississippi, Hill City and Western Railway.
Swan River (northern Minnesota)
The Swan River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 60 mi long, in northeastern Minnesota in the United States.It rises in Swan Lake, in southeast Itasca County, near Pengilly, approximately 13 mi southwest of Hibbing. It flows southwest, east of Trout Lake, then SSE past Warba...
and Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
s near Jacobson, Minnesota
Jacobson, Minnesota
Jacobson is a small unincorporated community in Aitkin County, Minnesota, United States.Formerly known as "Mississippi Landing," it is named after Paul Jacobson, who started the local post office and mail route in 1901....
.
A landing had been in use for many years, taking travelers to farmsteads and towns all along the way. The steamboats used cord wood to fuel the vessels. Seeing an opportunity, Ammi Wright and Charles Davis, loggers by trade, thought the location would be ideal for a logging base camp and railroad terminus. It was determined piers could be built, and logs dumped into the Mississippi River. The logs would then drift to the sawmills lower on the river. Though most of the timber near the river had already been cut by 1890, the two solved the problem by constructing a railroad up into the high elevation timberlands of the Gardner and Hibbing
Hibbing, Minnesota
Hibbing is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,361 at the 2010 census. The city was built on the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range. At the edge of town is the largest open-pit iron mine in the world. U.S...
areas. Spurs went out to various stands of timber. The logs were sent down to Mississippi Landing and dumped off the cars into the river. During the season they were able to haul about 500,000 feet per day." (Hibbing Sentinel ~ May 21, 1898)
The Company's base camp at the Mississippi Landing became a village. A machine and repair shop and an eight stall engine house were built. It was a company town, equipped with a company office, general manager's house, ice house, boarding house
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
, railroad boarding house, turntable, roundhouse, machine shop, car shop, casting house, harness room, cattle barn, hog pen, sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
, warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
s, coal bins, roothouse, store, school house
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
, coal dock, pumping house, water tank, boathouse, sand house, and several cottages.
Supplies and materials for the construction of the camp were brought from Duluth
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
on the Duluth & Winnipeg Railroad to Swan River, then down the Wright and Davis Railroad to Mississippi Landing. Some materials and equipment came by riverboat
Riverboat
A riverboat is a ship built boat designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury units constructed for entertainment enterprises, such...
. The railroad was built with all the modern equipment, including telegraph lines connecting the various stops.
Logging took place in the winter, and the logging horses were brought down to the landing and kept there during the summer months. Some were badly crippled from the rough winter work and were destroyed. A horse graveyard was established near the junction of Highways 65 and 200.
Accidents while logging were common and at times fatal. Many were buried in a cemetery set up north of the landing. The Swan River Logging Company built a board fence around the cemetery.
The company discouraged any other towns in the area. It owned the land around the terminus and would not sell lots to any person for any purpose whatever. They even put a fences around the town far out in the countryside, effectively prohibiting any other town from the railroad and steamboat landings. People living outside of the town had to go down the Mississippi River a distance of two miles to connect with a steamboat.
In 1908, the Great Northern Railway leased the tracks to the Mississippi, Hill City and Western Railway.