Aviva Directory » Local & Global » North America » United States » States » Minnesota » Cities & Towns » Floodwood

Located along the Savannah Portage, an important transportation route in the southern Arrowhead region, the area where Floodwood sites is at the junction of the Floodwood River and the East Savannah River with the Saint Louis River. People began homesteading the area in the late 1800s, and, in 1889, the railroad announced that its line would pass through the area, leading to rise in population. Large-scale logging operations were begun by J.C. Campbell in 1890, and the C.N. Nelson Lumber Company built a logging railroad to the area from Cloquet. Later, the Nelsonn company became part of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, after which its logging operations intensified. Floodwood was incorporated in 1899. A large fire, known as the Cloquet Fire of 1918, destroyed the town’s timber and diminished the importance of the rivers. Gradually, the town’s economy turned to the dairy industry, as the surrounding fields had pastures suitable for grazing cattle. The Floodwood Creamery Cooperative had already been organized in 1911, and the creamery became the chief support for the local economy until it closed in the late 1960s. Although the 2010 census showed a slight increase in the town’s population, its had decreased each decade since its peak population of 677 in 1960. Today, the city is at the junction of US Highway 2 and Minnesota Highway 73, about halfway between Duluth and Grand Rapids, along Highway 2, and between Hibbing and Moose Lake along Highway 73. Cloquet is also nearby.

 

 

Recommended Resources


Search for Floodwood on Google or Bing