Minnesota, Lake County, Two Harbors
![]()
After the Minnesota Iron Company began shipping iron ore from the Vermilion Range through the Two Harbors ore docks in 1884, this port far surpassed Duluth in importance. The increased traffic of ore boats, combined with commercial fishing, made navigation extremely hazardous. Many ships went aground or were dashed to bits along the foggy, rocky shoreline of Lake Superior. The Two Harbors Light Station, completed in 1892, alleviated the danger.
It was equipped with a Fourth Order Fresnel Lens, consisting of glass prisms surrounding a light source. The central prism magnified the light, while those above and below refracted it into a single beam. The volatility of kerosene, which originally powered the light source, dictated the design of the keeper's house. The two-story main house is constructed of walls two bricks thick. The walls of the adjoining light tower are three bricks thick, making the wall between five bricks thick. This gave added protection should the kerosene explode.
The fog signal house includes displays depicting the North Shore fishing industry. Also on site is the assistant keeper's house and the restored pilot house from the Frontenac, one of many iron ore boats claimed by treacherous waves on Lake Superior.
National Register of Historic Places
(Communications • Man-Made Features • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
After the Minnesota Iron Company began shipping iron ore from the Vermilion Range through the Two Harbors ore docks in 1884, this port far surpassed Duluth in importance. The increased traffic of ore boats, combined with commercial fishing, made navigation extremely hazardous. Many ships went aground or were dashed to bits along the foggy, rocky shoreline of Lake Superior. The Two Harbors Light Station, completed in 1892, alleviated the danger.
It was equipped with a Fourth Order Fresnel Lens, consisting of glass prisms surrounding a light source. The central prism magnified the light, while those above and below refracted it into a single beam. The volatility of kerosene, which originally powered the light source, dictated the design of the keeper's house. The two-story main house is constructed of walls two bricks thick. The walls of the adjoining light tower are three bricks thick, making the wall between five bricks thick. This gave added protection should the kerosene explode.
The fog signal house includes displays depicting the North Shore fishing industry. Also on site is the assistant keeper's house and the restored pilot house from the Frontenac, one of many iron ore boats claimed by treacherous waves on Lake Superior.
National Register of Historic Places
(Communications • Man-Made Features • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.
In Memory of
Founded in 1876 as Jefferson Methodist Episcopal Church, New Revived United Methodist Church was one of five African American congregations established in this vicinity between 1864 and 1880. These churches were rooted in faith communities that had thrived long before emancipation. Connected by rugged logging roads and well worn footpaths, free and enslaved families and associates would meet to share meals, prayers, and limited socializing.
Local militia attacked a British raiding party whose vessel was icebound near James Island February 7, 1815. Protected by a breastwork of ice, the Americans continued firing until the crew of 20 surrendered.
Eben Crawford (1821-1897), was an iron foundry operator and early oil and gas producer. In 1926 sons, George (1861-1935) and Fred (1863-1933) organized Columbia Gas and Electric Corp., the world's largest integrated natural gas company, merging production, pipelines and distribution properties in several states. Cousin Harry Crawford (1867-1953), banker, producer and refiner, became first president of Quaker State Oil Refining.
The Rev. James Curry, a missionary from Sherman, Texas, organized this congregation in 1885. It is the oldest African American church in the city. The Rev. James Lewis served as first pastor of the congregation, which met in a small house near the railroad tracks until about 1907, when a sanctuary was erected at the corner of 4th and Cherry streets in the south part of town. The church moved to the north side of town in 1940. A part of Abilene history for well over a century, Mount Zion Baptist Church continues to serve the community with a variety of programs.
The first public school for African Americans in Abilene was established in 1890. Located in the 200 block of Plum Street, the one-room school was named the Abilene Colored School. Its first class consisted of 22 students and one teacher.
The Fort Dodge - Camp Supply Military Road passed several hundred feet west of this marker. The route was established in 1868 during General Phillip H. Sheridan's winter campaign against Indians in Texas and the Indian Territory. This ungraded prairie trail, approximately 90 miles long, was important for transporting supplies from Fort Dodge and Dodge City to Camp (later Fort) Supply, in present Oklahoma, and was an important link in the communications system of western outposts. In the 1880s, a government telegraph line was erected along the route of the trail. In Clark County, two 50-foot square fortifications (redoubts) were built to house cavalry patrols assigned to keep the mail and supply route open. In the 1870s and 1880s, the military road served as a branch of the Western Trail over which cattle were driven from Texas to Dodge City and beyond. The present road between Bloom and Ashland follows the Fort Dodge-Camp Supply Military Road.
The importance of railroads to the early settlement and prosperity of the West is nowhere better illustrated than in the stories of two Seward county towns. Fargo Springs, founded in 1885 about three miles south of here, was the first town established in the county. The next year Springfield was located where this marker stands. In June it was named the temporary county seat but in August, after an election, the government was moved to Fargo Springs. The vote was contested and when re-canvassed in 1887 the county seat was returned to Springfield.
Gottlieb and Susan Bunert bought the 80 acre farm in 1849. They built a log cabin, dug a well and started to farm.
The Emlenton Bridge spanned the Allegheny River at this location from 1883 to 1987. Originally constructed of wrought iron, it consisted of two double-intersection Pratt trusses. Built by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company for the Emlenton Bridge Company, in 1898 it became the first free bridge in Venango County to cross the Allegheny.
left panel
Arthur William Phillips was born in Emlenton on July 29, 1888. His father, Samuel W. Phillips, successfully owned and operated oil wells in the Emlenton area. His mother, Clara Crawford Phillips, was a native of neighboring Scrubgrass Township. Following his graduation from Emlenton High School in 1906, he worked for several years in Hugh Gilmore's Drug Store, where Gilmore persuaded him to pursue a career in medicine. Some years later Phillips influenced Gilmore's son Hugh Jr. to do likewise, and the two thereafter remained lifelong friends.
The first school began in 1839 in a private home. In 1873 a large three-story brick building, including a high school, was erected on this site. In 1928 it was replaced by the present building, completely equipped, a gift to the community by Harry J. Crawford as a memorial to his wife and parents. Over the years students from a wide area received their education within these walls, many traveling by train or walking miles into Emlenton on a daily basis.
