History
of Park Point
It is characteristic of north shore streams to form a sand bar across
their mouths as they empty into Lake Superior. Minnesota Point (known
as Park Point) at 7 miles in length and neighboring Wisconsin Point at
3 miles form the longest freshwater sand bar in the world. The natural
entry to St. Louis Bay divides the bar on the Wisconsin side and is known
as the Superior Entry. The Park Point Ship Canal is the man made access
to the bay on the Minnesota side. The combined forces of eroded sand released
by the waters of the Nemadji and St. Louis rivers and the wave action
of Lake Superior continuously rebuilds the points which shelter the western
most harbor of the Great Lakes.
Native Ojibway
people made landfall on the points and used them as stopover sites on
canoe journeys to the lower lakes. Daniel Greysolon Sieur du Lhut may
have been the first European to see Park Point when he landed here in
1679. He was only the first of many explorers, trappers, traders and settlers
who passed through here and into the interior of the western territories.
Many of those went no farther than Minnesota Point which became a village
in 1854 and was not annexed to Duluth until 1889. It has played a vital
part in the history of the port.
Prior to
the completion of the ship canal in 1871 docks jutted into the lake itself
and were vulnerable to the winds and storms of Lake Superior. The 300
foot wide canal gave Duluth access to port traffic which had previously
gone first to Superior Wisconsin. Transportation between the Point and
Duluth was by ferry and row boat until 1905 when the first Aerial Bridge
was constructed. The suspended cable car could carry ten automobiles and
foot traffic and required about 10 minutes to make a round trip crossing.
The present Lift Bridge was built in 1929 when increased vehicle traffic
demanded faster access.
The "Park"
on Park Point was developed in the 1930's. This WPA project included the
present beach house and playground area. The park has undergone redevelopment
and now volley ball courts, softball fields, a boat launch and picnic
grounds add to the attraction of this area. Until 1954 the Oatka Boat
Club was one of the centers for social gatherings and rowing regattas
until the building burned down. Recently the Duluth Rowing Club has constructed
a new boathouse at 3900 Minnesota Ave.
THE
TRAIL
Totaling four miles out and back this trail is somewhat of a challenge
as about half of it is through the sand at the water's edge. The trail
features a variety of plants and trees, some interesting views of the
harbor, the remnants of old growth forest and settlers cabins and the
site of the original lighthouse at the Superior entry. There is also a
white tailed deer herd and it is an unparalleled location for watching
nesting shore birds, water fowl and migratory song birds.
FLORA
Beach plants are an important factor in preventing dune erosion. Most
are low growing shrubs or spreading ground cover plants and some are grasses
with spreading root systems. Some of the plants which can be identified
on Park Point include Beach Pea, which has purple sweet pea like flowers
in spring and small pea pods which ripen in the fall, another is Starry
False Solomon's Seal a member of the lily family with a small white star
shaped flower and blue black berries. Sand Cherry and False Heather are
both shrubs which add white and yellow flowers respectively to the spring
blooms. There are two evergreen shrubs adding their root systems to the
dune preservation. Narrow leaved common Juniper with its berries used
to flavor Gin and Bear Berry which is flat leaved with pink, drooping,
bell shaped flowers which become scarlet berries favored by black bears
Toward the
far end of the point in the meadow area are Common Milkweed and Scouring
Rush. Purple umbrels of tiny flowers on the Milkweed attract the Monarch
Butterfly which lays its eggs on this plant and on which its green and
black stripped caterpillar feeds and forms its chrysalis. Scouring rush
is a primitive plant form with neither leaves nor flowers. Grey green
and jointed it has a cone like capsule at the tip and releases spores
in order to reproduce. It will grow in the poorest soils and even comes
up through blacktop pavement. The stems contain silica and were used for
scrubbing and scouring.
One plant
to beware and aware of is Poison Ivy. It is abundant along the trail and
can be identified by its three leaved leaf clusters, white berries and
reddish color of the new leaves in spring. All portions of the plant are
toxic and long pants are recommended for this trail to avoid accidental
contact with it.
Three of
the most valuable trees in Minnesota are found here. The remnants of old
growth forest here include American Larch also known as Tamarack, Norway
or "Red" Pine and White Pine. All are conifers though the Tamarack
acts like a deciduous tree and sheds its needles which turn bright gold
in the fall. All were part of the great northern forest which was the
foundation of the timber and lumber industries at the end of the 19th
Century. Some of the mansions built by those "Timber Barons"
have become popular attractions of the Duluth tourist industry.
The Tamarack
tolerates wet feet and will thrive in low places. A strong straight grained
wood it was popular for fence posts, railroad ties and telephone poles.
Its needles are short and soft, a pale green in spring and darkening over
summer until they fall leaving the small cones on the branches through
the winter.
Norway and
White Pine yield straight white wood which produced the dimension lumber
that built the Midwest. Norway Pine has reddish grey flaky bark and long
needles which grow two to a cluster. The cones are round when open and
will close up again when wet. White Pine bark is grey black, rough and
fissured. Its needles are five to the bundle and the cone is 5 to 6 inches
long, slightly curved and each petal is tipped with pitch making it hard
to handle without getting all sticky. Few of these trees now reach the
mature size of those found on Park Point because of their susceptibility
to White Pine Blister Rust. Some of this old growth is estimated to be
over 180 years old.
Two other
conifers found on the "Point" are Scotch Pine, a European import
and "Jack" pine. Both are hardy and can withstand the wild and
windy weather at the far end of the sand spit.
HIKING
THE TRAIL
Follow Minnesota Avenue through the Park Point Recreation Area to the
Sky Harbor Airport and park outside the airport fence. Sky Harbor is the
sea plane base from which fishermen bound for the Canadian back country
depart. It also caters to private aircraft which prefer to avoid the larger
Duluth International Airport.
Most of the
first mile of the trail is along the gravel road accessing the two pumping
stations which supply Lake Superior water to the town of Cloquet and the
City of Superior. At the pumping stations take the right fork of the trail
and enter the old growth forest remnant of Red and White Pine which once
covered the entire point. On the left are the foundations of some of the
cabins built by the original settlers. Further along is an area which
was burned in a forest fire in the 1950's. Sometimes new white pine seedlings
grow in the burned out pocket of the stump of the old tree. Nearby is
the one privately owned cabin still in use on Park Point. No new building
permits are issued here.
At about
a mile and a quarter, ahead and to your left, is the first view of the
Superior Ship Entry. The right hand trail leads to the bay shore and views
of the Burlington Northern Ore docks, the largest in the world, the Peavey
Company Flour Mill elevators and on the right the Osborne-McMillan grain
elevators.
A half a
mile further on is the site of the original light house. The 50 foot high
tower was build in 1855, was the first high powered light beacon on Lake
Superior and cost $13,835.00 to build. In operation for only 20 years
its lens came from the Bordeau Company of Paris, France and it is still
in use in the light on the west pierhead of the Superior Entry. In 1975
the lighthouse was designated a national historic monument and the base
serves as the zero point for survey maps of Lake Superior.
Nearing the
end of the "Point" there is an abandoned boat house which formerly
housed a small boat and buoy works. The U S Corps of Engineers maintains
a dock here used by dredge operators when setting markers. It is also
used by pleasure boaters as a tie up for on shore picnics. From the very
tip of the point it is only a few hundred feet across the mouth of the
bay to Wisconsin Point. Ships from all over the world pass through here
hauling grain, ore and coal to the industrial centers on the lower Great
Lakes.
For the returning
two mile hike the hardy may choose the trail on the lake side. The first
stretch is along an old breakwater which entails some rock hopping and
the remainder is up the beach through the sand. Here is your opportunity
to search for Lake Superior's substitutes for sea shells; sand washed
bits of colored glass, agates or pieces of Thompsonite or Ely Greenstone.
Or just watch the waves and take in the vastness of this great lake. Those
less adventurous hikers can return the way they came and spot the things
they missed on the way out.
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