Knife River Heritage & Cultural Center
History worth preserving
Photo: Paul B. Gaylord - Courtesy University of Minnesota Duluth Archives, NE Minnesota Historical Collection
An Ojibwe village on the banks of the St. Louis River like what may have been on Granite Point.
History from Indigenous times.
Indigenous peoples had a presence at Knife River for thousands of years. Their name for the river was Môkômân-Subi, which translates into “Knife River.” Fishing, copper deposits for tool making, and other natural resources attracted them.
A seasonal village was on Granite Point, which today forms the western entry into Knife River Harbor. It existed from at least 1769 to about 1870.
With the arrival of Europeans in the mid-1850s, Knife River’s history began evolving with the growth of natural resource industries: copper mining, commercial fishing, iron ore and railroading, and boat building. Today the focus is on outdoor recreation.
Photo: Randy Ellestad
Historical moments for Knife River:
On the day prior to its anticipated arrival in Duluth, the LEIF ERIKSON partook in a festive celebration in Two Harbors, MN. As it sailed for Duluth on June 23, 1927, it was becalmed off Knife River. Two fishermen from Knife River saw its plight and towed it towards Duluth until a following wind carried the ship to its appointed gala celebration.
Photo: KRHCC archives
In 1939, Crown Prince Olav of Norway visited Minnesota and asked to see the influence of Scandinavian-Americans on the North Shore. Knife River was chosen. The fish tug CRUSADER II was about to be launched, and Olav was asked to christen it, which he did.
