History and Antiques are great items to add to your vacation destination this summer. Come to Lake of the Woods and visit our wonderful Lake of the Woods Historical Society. Lake of the Woods County Historical Society is located in Baudette, MN at 119 8^th Ave SE. It is on the east end of town and has a beautiful building to store all of its history and artifacts from the ages past. Lindsay Marshall is our current director and she is a tremendous historian. She has worked within the facility arranging and rearranging displays to enhance the visitor’s eye. She has definitely captured the flavor of the area.

The LOW Historical Society opens each year in Mid May and is open to the public. Inside you will find fascinating items from past generations. The experience for this non history connoisseur was delightful and I will be back. The Museum will be open to the public on July 3^rd from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00p.m. and again on July 4^th from 10:00 am. To 1:00 p.m

There is so much history already recorded with the Historical  Society but much more is added throughout the year. Donations keep coming from past history and displays are continually being updated.

The History of Lake of the Woods County is rich as pioneers moved in to the forest areas around and started whittling out places to live and raise families. Early settlers established the town of Baudette and businesses started arriving. Because of the location of the town along the Rainy River, logging became a very profitable business. This was the primary source of income for the area until the Fire of 1910 wiped out the towns of Baudette and Spooner. The Historical Society has a great amount of information about this historical event as well.

Of course, fishing is a big part of the history of Lake of the Woods. It was excellent then and now so commercial fishing became a fruitful industry. For the outdoors minded person, everything from old fishing rods, tackle, motors, and big mounted fish. There is lots of history of the Lake of the Woods fishery. Pictures of monster sturgeon over 150 lbs. The mount of the walleye the Willie Walleye statue is modeled after. Pictures of fishermen in small boats pulling in massive nets from the days gone by. History of harvesting liver oil from eelpout that was many times more effective than normal oil. Very interesting.

Because of the fishing, a local resident, who was also a chemist, discovered medicinal qualities that the fish had and established a fruitful business called Reid Rowell Laboratories. Although the company has changed names many times, there is still a strong pharmaceutical company still in Baudette known now as ANI Pharaceuticals

Lake of the Woods County was known for it’s logging industry during the early 1900’s. In 1910, a big forest fire decimated much of the area and took over 30 lives. Similar to other forest fires, the disaster took place over dry, harvested land which was vulnerable to fires.

The logging industry was and still is a big part of the area. A variety of saws, tools and sharpeners are displayed. Old time two person hand saws and chain saws that used to rip through massive trees in the area makes one think about the size of the trees our ancestors harvested.  It doesn’t seem like it was an easy life compared to modern times.

CCC camps were a part of the history here and the past camp Is now occupied by the DNR. Roads travel through the forest and great displays of pine adorn the landscape. If those trees could talk, they would tell a story about past history as well.

At one time the Laurel Indians inhabited the land here and used the famous sturgeon that lives in the Rainy River for their food supply and also used them for fuel. You’ll find good information on that era as well at the Museum.

Visiting the local museum with its superb history is a great way to keep that very history alive and teach the younger generation as well. The museum has written a number of books about the area that are for sale at the museum. Pioneers first settled in the forest area east and south of Baudette. Today visitors are encouraged to visit those areas and see the sites of past homesteads and Faunce Tower.

Another historical sight in Baudette is the Depot. This depot and its history has been preserved by a committed group of people in the area who have completely restored the building and the history it contains. Take a walking tour through the building and learn about the tremendous history of the railroad and the part it has played in this north country.

So… come fishing, stay at one of our fabulous resorts, catch fish, dine at fine restaurants and explore the history that makes this northland a treasure.

For more information see our website at: www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com

For lodging see: www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com/lodging

Our Facebook page can be found at: www.facebook.com/lakeofthewoodsmn

Also see the Historical Society Website at: www.lakeofthewoodshistoricalsociety.com

You can also find them on Facebook. The normal hours are: Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.