On this day in Duluth in 1877, the Zenith City was a city no more, and was incorporated as a village. Actually, it had not technically been a city since March 14 of that year, when it had lost its city charter due to its financial debts and had become the District of Duluth. It was…

On this day in Duluth in 1892, officials officially dedicated Duluth High School at Lake Avenue and East Second, , known today as “Old Central.” The $1.1 million building was designed by Duluth architect’s Palmer and Hunt, who modeled their design after the Allegheny County Courthouse and Jail in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The dedication began with an…

On this day in Duluth in 1907, members of Park Point Civil Club, which also acted as a makeshift volunteer fire department, tested the world’s first and only known firefighting streetcar. Led by Chief John Black, firefighters boarded a streetcar—newly equipped for firefighting—at 9 a.m. and rode along Minnesota Point from the car barns near…

On this day in Duluth in 1929, thousands of Duluthians gathered to watch as the 410-ton top span of the Aerial Transfer Bridge was cut loose and raised forty-one feet higher during its conversion into the Aerial Lift Bridge. The last trip of the Transfer Bridge had taken place on July 2, and for over…

On this day in Duluth in 1907, the Duluth Commercial Club voted to approve the plans of Chicago architectural firm Graham, Burnham & Company’s plans to replace the St. Louis County Court House with a new building and, eventually, an entire Civic Center that would eventually replace city hall, the county jail, and Duluth’s federal…

On this day across the bay in 1892, the first train load of iron ore from the Missabe Range reached the ore docks in Superior’s Allouez neighborhood. The Duluth, Missabe & Northern Railway train left Mountain Iron earlier in the day. Duluth’s ore docks were still under construction, so when the train and its 4,245-ton…

On this day in 1857, future Duluthian Augustus B. Wolvin was born in Cleveland, Ohio. At just ten years old Wolvin became a cabin boy on the Great Lakes steamers, attending limited school in the winter when lake navigation was suspended. By 1878, the 21-year-old Wolvin was master of a vessel owned by the Winslow…

On this day in Duluth in 1911, Thomas McGoey became the first person to pilot a plane in Duluth. Dubbed “The Birdman” by the local press, McGooey took flight from Athletic Park in the shadows of the ore docks. A football game between two local teams—the Jeffersons and the Adams—was interrupted at 2 p.m.for McGooey’s…

On this day in Duluth in 1922, the Miller Trunk Highway—aka State Highway No. 11—opened to traffic, allowing for safer and faster automobile travel between Duluth and the Iron Range. The road was named in honor of Charles G. Miller who as county commissioner worked tirelessly to build a road that would link range cities…

On this day in Duluth in 1899, President William McKinley became the first sitting president to visit the Zenith City—but it wasn’t his first time in town. He had visited Duluth twice before he was president, but while he was still considered “one of the most notable men in public life,” as described by the…