Koochiching County Heritage Society
Our Heritage..Is Our History
The history here in Koochiching County is rich in history,and those dwelling into it today,who are looking back into the past,most likely have the same type of excited feelings of those who migrated here long ago.Many came for a variety of reason,and we'd love to share a quick history lesson that will also shed alot of light into the great heritage of our county.
So many walks of life made it up this way,and so many walks of life were created.
From the explorers,the fur traders,lumber jacks,and those prospecting.They all had one thing in common.Starting a new life,and willing to make a new start,and to take advantage of opportunities if they arrived.
Life was very hard for those who settled here.The weather could be extreme,and very unfriendly,illness,the isolation,and let us not leave out the bugs & insects that they put up with.
Over time schools were built,roads were created after years of hard work,shops opened in some of the small communities here in this region,opportunities arose that attracted others was the major factor,and we'll discuss some of that.After all,it is heritage as much as history.
We'll touch some of the early history before we came a county in 1906 as well,giving the reader a good understanding of our history.
How we got our name is a little bit of a mystery,but we have the general idea how it was created.It's obviously and most likely an Indian name,but the defination is a bit fuzzy,but in the end the name comes from a white man's tongue,and really left up to interpretation.It was first a name of the falls of Rainy River,and the community that arose adopted that same name,and now it's known as International Falls.
The history here goes back 100's of years,and on our next update we'll be adding the Native American Culture,and it's history in relations to the county.They were the original inhabitants,and to exclude that would be leaving out alot of important history.Not only that,but alot of their heritage is still here today,passed on by generation..to generation.
First European Explorers & Adventurers Arrive
One of the first European explorers to arrive in the area was a Frenchman named Jacques de Noyons around 1688.Not long after the British arrived,and they were laying their eyes on the fur trade.This went on for a good 170 year,then slowed down in the mid 1800's.
Trappers,and surveyors who came later found both scenery and a wealth of natural resources in the interior.Things are not as they were back then,due to the over logging of some species of trees,and when doing so in great numbers reduced,and eradicated some of the wildlife that was once present here.Such as caribou & elk.
Then after 1870 tough men like Alexander Baker,Joseph Baker,Henry Metcalf,David Reedy,Thomas McKinstry,Don Campbell and others ventured into the county when it was a vast wilderness.They settled on lands along the river,built log cabins and began to clear land for gardening,hay and other crops.They hunted,trapped,and lived off the land,and also made side incomes by trapping,and logging.
Then around 1865 prospectors began coming into the Rainy River,and Rainy Lake area on both the Canadian and American sides,to search for precious minerals.Gold was the main mineral they had on their mind,and their was small deposits discovered,but this rush didn't last long.It was over by the time it started,but it did reveal other mineral sources later on,that we'll discuss here shortly.
The largest rush we could say,was the logging era,or better said "the logging boom".
Logging camps were a very important factor in the production of forest products in the early history of Koochiching County.You can still see some remnants today from an iron bar sticking out of a rock along the river,or a lake in the county.
Water transportation provided about the only access to the forest areas,not only that,but they transported logs across the lakes,and river.Being near water served its purpose for the early logging up this way.
Once the railroad reached International Falls after the turn of the last century,is when the logging boom really picked up.Several large logging companies came into the area,but due to poor record keeping,alot of these logging camp locations have been forgotten.
We can't express enough that logging is what really got this county going,by providing jobs,and with the vast resources of a variety of trees,it laid the foundation for this region of the state.
The history up this way,is not only rich..but vast.
One thing we're proud of is other researchers documenting,and recoring our history to share with others.We have several cemeteries here in the county,and very well documented with those laid to rest.
The cemeteries are :
Dentabow Cemetery in Littlefork, Dentabow Township, Koochiching County
Gemmell Cemetery
Homestead Cemetery on the Big Fork River between Littlefork and Big Falls.Koochiching County
Highway 217 Cemetery in Ray.Koochiching County
Cemetery by Lofgren Bridge. Koochiching County
Lyman Cemetery in Ray.Koochiching County
Oakley Cemetery in Littlefork.Koochiching County
Olson Cemetery in Net River,Littlefork. Koochiching County
Cemetery in Ray.Koochiching County
Riverside Cemetery in Border.Koochiching County
Riverside Cemetery in Loman.Koochiching County
Riverside Cemetery North Lindford Township,Littlefork.Koochiching County
If you're looking for past loved ones,and wondering where they might be burried in Koochiching,then check here.These are some of the best cemetery records a county could ever hope for.
http://usgwarchives.net/mn/koochiching/koochich.html
History Of The Willard Munger Trail
If you're up this way,make sure to check out the Koochiching Historical Museum.There is a good 10,000 years worth of history here.Exhibits document the northern Minnesota region including Native history and culture,European settlements that give you a good idea of the fur & logging days long ago.
Koochiching County Historical Museum
214 6th Avenue, Internatl Falls, MN 56649
(218) 283-4316
Please Sumit Your Data
We'd like to take the time to ask you,if you'd like to share your data,thoughts,or any type of historical data about Koochiching County with our readers.We're not to picky,so if you have something you'd like to share,we'd love to hear from you.Roberta will get it up,and we the readers thank you.
Researching our county is what we love,and that's sharing the knowledge we find with others.So thank you for visiting,and we hope to hear from you.
If you're new into the research scene,here are a couple links to get you started.Without sites that share information freely,many of us would give up before the search started.
RootsWeb
So many walks of life made it up this way,and so many walks of life were created.
From the explorers,the fur traders,lumber jacks,and those prospecting.They all had one thing in common.Starting a new life,and willing to make a new start,and to take advantage of opportunities if they arrived.
Life was very hard for those who settled here.The weather could be extreme,and very unfriendly,illness,the isolation,and let us not leave out the bugs & insects that they put up with.
Over time schools were built,roads were created after years of hard work,shops opened in some of the small communities here in this region,opportunities arose that attracted others was the major factor,and we'll discuss some of that.After all,it is heritage as much as history.
We'll touch some of the early history before we came a county in 1906 as well,giving the reader a good understanding of our history.
How we got our name is a little bit of a mystery,but we have the general idea how it was created.It's obviously and most likely an Indian name,but the defination is a bit fuzzy,but in the end the name comes from a white man's tongue,and really left up to interpretation.It was first a name of the falls of Rainy River,and the community that arose adopted that same name,and now it's known as International Falls.
The history here goes back 100's of years,and on our next update we'll be adding the Native American Culture,and it's history in relations to the county.They were the original inhabitants,and to exclude that would be leaving out alot of important history.Not only that,but alot of their heritage is still here today,passed on by generation..to generation.
First European Explorers & Adventurers Arrive
One of the first European explorers to arrive in the area was a Frenchman named Jacques de Noyons around 1688.Not long after the British arrived,and they were laying their eyes on the fur trade.This went on for a good 170 year,then slowed down in the mid 1800's.
Trappers,and surveyors who came later found both scenery and a wealth of natural resources in the interior.Things are not as they were back then,due to the over logging of some species of trees,and when doing so in great numbers reduced,and eradicated some of the wildlife that was once present here.Such as caribou & elk.
Then after 1870 tough men like Alexander Baker,Joseph Baker,Henry Metcalf,David Reedy,Thomas McKinstry,Don Campbell and others ventured into the county when it was a vast wilderness.They settled on lands along the river,built log cabins and began to clear land for gardening,hay and other crops.They hunted,trapped,and lived off the land,and also made side incomes by trapping,and logging.
Then around 1865 prospectors began coming into the Rainy River,and Rainy Lake area on both the Canadian and American sides,to search for precious minerals.Gold was the main mineral they had on their mind,and their was small deposits discovered,but this rush didn't last long.It was over by the time it started,but it did reveal other mineral sources later on,that we'll discuss here shortly.
The largest rush we could say,was the logging era,or better said "the logging boom".
Logging camps were a very important factor in the production of forest products in the early history of Koochiching County.You can still see some remnants today from an iron bar sticking out of a rock along the river,or a lake in the county.
Water transportation provided about the only access to the forest areas,not only that,but they transported logs across the lakes,and river.Being near water served its purpose for the early logging up this way.
Once the railroad reached International Falls after the turn of the last century,is when the logging boom really picked up.Several large logging companies came into the area,but due to poor record keeping,alot of these logging camp locations have been forgotten.
We can't express enough that logging is what really got this county going,by providing jobs,and with the vast resources of a variety of trees,it laid the foundation for this region of the state.
The history up this way,is not only rich..but vast.
One thing we're proud of is other researchers documenting,and recoring our history to share with others.We have several cemeteries here in the county,and very well documented with those laid to rest.
The cemeteries are :
Dentabow Cemetery in Littlefork, Dentabow Township, Koochiching County
Gemmell Cemetery
Homestead Cemetery on the Big Fork River between Littlefork and Big Falls.Koochiching County
Highway 217 Cemetery in Ray.Koochiching County
Cemetery by Lofgren Bridge. Koochiching County
Lyman Cemetery in Ray.Koochiching County
Oakley Cemetery in Littlefork.Koochiching County
Olson Cemetery in Net River,Littlefork. Koochiching County
Cemetery in Ray.Koochiching County
Riverside Cemetery in Border.Koochiching County
Riverside Cemetery in Loman.Koochiching County
Riverside Cemetery North Lindford Township,Littlefork.Koochiching County
If you're looking for past loved ones,and wondering where they might be burried in Koochiching,then check here.These are some of the best cemetery records a county could ever hope for.
http://usgwarchives.net/mn/koochiching/koochich.html
History Of The Willard Munger Trail
If you're up this way,make sure to check out the Koochiching Historical Museum.There is a good 10,000 years worth of history here.Exhibits document the northern Minnesota region including Native history and culture,European settlements that give you a good idea of the fur & logging days long ago.
Koochiching County Historical Museum
214 6th Avenue, Internatl Falls, MN 56649
(218) 283-4316
Please Sumit Your Data
We'd like to take the time to ask you,if you'd like to share your data,thoughts,or any type of historical data about Koochiching County with our readers.We're not to picky,so if you have something you'd like to share,we'd love to hear from you.Roberta will get it up,and we the readers thank you.
Researching our county is what we love,and that's sharing the knowledge we find with others.So thank you for visiting,and we hope to hear from you.
If you're new into the research scene,here are a couple links to get you started.Without sites that share information freely,many of us would give up before the search started.
RootsWeb
