As the only direct route, north shore travelers soon begin to memorize things on Highway 61 and we wonder. We wonder why Cant Road? Why Knife or Caribou Rivers? Who named them, and why? We see the Superior National Forest signs, but do we venture in? We see the Chippewa City Church and, unless we read Walking the Old Road, we know nothing of why it is there.
We wonder about two DNR Scientific and Natural Areas and sometimes stop to check them out. We wonder what is on those byways leading away from the highway. Sometimes we go look and find places like the Trestle Café or a blueberry patch. We see safe harbor signs and wonder who keeps them.
We see that Silver Creek Cliff tunnel is named but not Crow Creek tunnel and wonder why? What does Tettegouche mean? Temperance and Baptism Rivers? Devil Track? We see the many state parks around the rivers and wonder how the state obtained them and why others remain privately owned. We wonder who owns various businesses along the shore and what their stories are. We see some are for sale and consider, and then reject, the idea of working as hard as you must to run a hostelry or eatery.
Why does the Caribou Trail not follow the Caribou River?
I chuckle every time I go past Temperance Liquors between Tofte and Schroeder. Whence the name of the Temperance River? According to the State Park website, the river got its name because, unlike other north shore streams, the river has no sand bar at its mouth. The waters of this river flow so deeply with such strength into Lake Superior that there is no build-up of debris. This means that there is no “bar.” What would you call a river without a bar? For an appropriate, if slightly tongue-in-cheek selection, “temperance” fits perfectly. I guess we believe that. The area became a state park in 1957.
Tettegouche? After cutting down the virgin forest in 1910, the lumber company sold the land around the Baptism River to the “Tettegouche Club,” a group of Duluth businessmen, for a fishing retreat. Furious at the club’s decision to sell the land, one of its members, Clement Quinn, bought the others out in 1921. He held the land until 1971 when he sold Tettegouche to the deLaittres family. The deLaittres began negotiations several years later for the preservation of Tettegouche as a state park. During these years, the Nature Conservancy, a private land conservation organization, played a vital role (along with other concerned individuals and groups) in the transfer of ownership. Finally, on June 29, 1979, legislation was enacted, establishing Tettegouche as a state park. The High Falls of the Baptism River are in the park. This is the highest waterfall entirely within the state of Minnesota at 60 feet, possibly 70 feet by some measures. The High Falls on the Pigeon River are higher, about 120 feet, but are shared with Ontario, Canada.
Online searches, including an Etymology dictionary, disclosed nothing about the Tettegouche name, but one source says we should pronounce it Tet-e-goo-shee.
Nearby Ilgen City? Sounds like a rail stop near Cucamunga. Established in 1924 by Rudolf Ilgen from Des Moines, Iowa. He bought the land from 3M and set up a sawmill, store, hotel, and cabins. Ilgen Falls is upstream from the High Falls of the Baptism River and takes its name from Ilgen City. Many Iowans, including my wife Myrna, have come up here and stayed.
If you liked wondering about Highway 61 sites, and you tell the editor, you will see some more. Please contact Brian at ccnh@boreal.org.
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