Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Depot (Moose Lake, Minnesota)

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Built
  
1907

NRHP Reference #
  
86003813

Area
  
3,642 m²

Architect
  
Soo Line Railroad

Opened
  
1907

Added to NRHP
  
17 March 1994

Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Depot (Moose Lake, Minnesota)

Location
  
840 Folz Blvd., Moose Lake, Minnesota

The Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Depot in Moose Lake, Minnesota, United States, is a depot built in 1907 by the Soo Line Railroad. The building was one of the few buildings that survived the 1918 Cloquet Fire, and it was used to provide shelter for those left homeless in the fires.

The railroad first built a depot in this location in 1873. The 1918 Cloquet Fire started on October 12, 1918, with a background of a hot, dry summer, followed by a fall with little rain. The fire started on a windy day when a spark, possibly thrown from a passing train, ignited nearby brush. Much of the area, from Sturgeon Lake to Moose Lake, Cloquet, and close to Duluth, was devastated by the fire. It killed 453 people, and 52,000 homes were destroyed. The American Red Cross housed the homeless in "fire shacks". The residents of Moose Lake decided to rebuild the community.

The depot now serves as the Depot and Fires of 1918 Museum that tells the stories of the tragedy and the heroism brought out by the fire. The museum is operated by the Moose Lake Area Historical Society.

The Soo Line tracks are now gone, replaced by a recreational trail, the Soo Line Trail.

References

Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Depot (Moose Lake, Minnesota) Wikipedia