May 9, 1911: Death of Pioneer Ernie Jefferson

On this Day in 1911, pioneer Ernie Jefferson died at his summer home on Bay Lake near Deerwood, Minnesota. Jefferson, namesake of Duluth’s Jefferson Street, came to Duluth in 1869. During the Civil War he had fought for the famous First Minnesota Infantry Regiment, which lead the charge on Cemetery Ridge during the Battle Of Gettysburg. Only 47 of 262 men survived that charge, including Jefferson—but it cost him his leg. (Jefferson’s brother Robert had been a pioneer of Duluth in the 1850s and built the first hotel in Duluth, also his residence, known as the Jefferson House; Robert had enlisted in 1861 but died of an unrecorded illness before he saw action.) In Duluth, Ernie Jefferson opened a harness shop and worked as a lighthouse keeper and is said to have brought the first herd of cattle to the Head of the Lakes. He also served on the Duluth City Council and the St. Louis County board of Commissioners. Read much more about Ernie Jefferson here, and about Robert Jefferson and the Jefferson House here.

Ernest Jefferson. (Image: Duluth Public Library)