Former Bethel College professor Gene Glader wrote this handy history about downtown Grand Marais. Not every building was written about, but the majority of town was covered in this interesting look at the development of Grand Marais throughout the years.
Many boring books have been written about the histories of small towns. Gene Glader’s Downtown Grand Marais: A Brief
History of the Early Hotels, the Harbor and
Wisconsin Street
isn’t one of them.
In fact, Glader’s look at Grand Marais is a fun-read filled with a lot of great pictures. It is chock full of stories about the various businesses that have come and gone. About the people who settled here, built this town and died here or moved on, carrying their dreams to new places.
Glader became curious about the town’s history after he and his wife Laurene purchased the Blue Water Café in 1981. His interest was piqued after researching the Blue Water site and from there all bets were off. A professor at Bethel College from 1961 to 1981, Glader, who holds a PhD in physical education, began researching the town in earnest four years ago. “I had to draw a line somewhere,” said Glader on why he didn’t include the whole town in his book.
“There were also interesting details about people I uncovered in my research. But maybe those stories are for another book,” added Glader.
Stepping back in time, Glader details the early landowners, especially the role the Grand Marais Real-Estate and Improvement Company played in developing the town. He also notes the efforts to put rail service through town and the importance that the early fur trade, fishing and logging had on the economy.
In the “Did you know?” category, Glader points to the signing of the Treaty of LaPointe between the U. S. Government and seven chiefs of the Chippewa Indian Peace Commission in September of 1854 as a tipping point that began the need for lodging in Grand Marais. This treaty led to a rush of prospectors and mineral explorers coming through the area needing temporary housing.
There are many stories in these pages that detail the many different businesses that buildings housed, including the changes to the buildings themselves.
Included are more recent histories about Drury Lane Books, The World’s Best Donuts, Sivertson’s Art Gallery, and Sven & Ole’s Pizza, to name a few newer storefronts along Wisconsin Street.
Growing up in Grand Marais was a rewarding experience for this writer. I was a town kid, a “harbor rat,” running the boom logs and playing in the pulp piles and hunting agates on the shore in the harbor. Reading this book and looking at the pictures brought back memories. I was back, for awhile, chasing through town with my friends, getting a Green River at Leng’s Fountain and bubble gum from Joynes with my earnings from selling worms and night crawlers to Midway gas station. Thetaste of the
Green River and the slower pace of town lingers. For me this book was a welcome respite from life today. Hopefully it will be the same for you.
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