Hand-drawn 1920s map of the Rainy Lake watershed in both Minnesota and Ontario, possibly drawn by Ernest Oberholtzer, showing the 14,500 square miles that would have been effected by Edward Backus’ proposed dams. Used with the permission of the Oberholtzer Foundation.

Map of Rainy Lake watershed and environs

Hand-drawn 1920s map of the Rainy Lake watershed in both Minnesota and Ontario, possibly drawn by Ernest Oberholtzer, showing the 14,500 square miles that would have been effected by Edward Backus’ proposed dams. Used with the permission of the Oberholtzer Foundation.

Ernest Oberholtzer, 1940

Ernest Oberholtzer

Ernest Oberholtzer, 1940.

Oberholtzer, Ernest (1884–1977)

Ernest Oberholtzer first paddled the lakes of the Rainy Lake watershed in 1909. Starting in the 1920s, he lived on Rainy Lake’s Mallard Island and was a prominent conservationist. He led the campaign for legislation to protect the watershed, including parts of what would become Voyagerus National Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Commercialization of Taconite

Though taconite was identified as an iron-bearing rock on the Iron Ranges of northern Minnesota long before the 1950s, it wasn’t until then that it was extracted, processed, and shipped to steel mills on the Great Lakes. As natural ore reserves diminished, taconite became an alternative source of iron that allowed the Iron Range to continue mining operations in a changing global economy.

Fisherman in Whitewater State Park, ca. 1917. Original caption: “Where the Finy [sic] Tribe Abound.” From The Paradise of Minnesota: The Proposed Whitewater State Park (L. A. Warming, 1917).

Fisherman in Whitewater State Park

Fisherman in Whitewater State Park, ca. 1917. Original caption: “Where the Finy [sic] Tribe Abound.” From The Paradise of Minnesota: The Proposed Whitewater State Park (L. A. Warming, comp., 1917). Available at the Minnesota Historical Society library as F612.W742 W37 1917.

Camp in Whitewater State Park, ca. 1917. Original caption: “Summer Camp in Gooseberry Glen.” From The Paradise of Minnesota: The Proposed Whitewater State Park (L. A. Warming, 1917).

Camp in Whitewater State Park

Camp in Whitewater State Park, ca. 1917. Original caption: “Summer Camp in Gooseberry Glen.” From The Paradise of Minnesota: The Proposed Whitewater State Park (L. A. Warming, comp., 1917). Available at the Minnesota Historical Society library as F612.W742 W37 1917.

: A stream in Whitewater State Park, ca. 1917. Original caption: “Riffles above Sand Rock.” From The Paradise of Minnesota: The Proposed Whitewater State Park (L. A. Warming, 1917).

Stream in Whitewater State Park

: A stream in Whitewater State Park, ca. 1917. Original caption: “Riffles above Sand Rock.” From The Paradise of Minnesota: The Proposed Whitewater State Park(L. A. Warming, comp., 1917). Available at the Minnesota Historical Society library as F612.W742 W37 1917.

Chimney Rock, Whitewater State Park, ca. 1917. Original caption: “Chimney Rock: A Man May Be Seen in the Hollow of the Rock.” From The Paradise of Minnesota: The Proposed Whitewater State Park (L. A. Warming, 1917).

Chimney Rock, Whitewater State Park

Chimney Rock, Whitewater State Park, ca. 1917. Original caption: “Chimney Rock: A Man May Be Seen in the Hollow of the Rock.” From The Paradise of Minnesota: The Proposed Whitewater State Park (L. A. Warming, comp., 1917). Available at the Minnesota Historical Society library as F612.W742 W37 1917.

A fisherman in Whitewater State Park, ca. 1917. Original caption: “A Favorite Bend in the Stream.” From The Paradise of Minnesota: The Proposed Whitewater State Park (L. A. Warming, 1917).

Fisherman in Whitewater State Park

A fisherman in Whitewater State Park, ca. 1917. Original caption: “A Favorite Bend in the Stream.” From The Paradise of Minnesota: The Proposed Whitewater State Park (L. A. Warming, comp., 1917). Available at the Minnesota Historical Society library as F612.W742 W37 1917.

Map of southeastern Minnesota printed in The Paradise of Minnesota: The Proposed Whitewater State Park (L. A. Warming, 1917).

Map of southeastern Minnesota

Map of southeastern Minnesota printed in The Paradise of Minnesota: The Proposed Whitewater State Park (L. A. Warming, comp., 1917). Available at the Minnesota Historical Society library as F612.W742 W37 1917.

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