SPLIT ROCK LIGHTHOUSE STATE PARK
LENGTH 3.1 miles TIME 1:45 DIFFICULTY Moderate
ROUTE-FINDING MAPS & PERMITS
Easy
DNR Split Rock Lighthouse State Park map. USGS quad: Split Rock Point. A Country State Park permit is required.
GETTING THERE The trailhead is located at the parking lot on the east side of Split Rock River on the lake side of U.S. Highway 61. The access road to this parking area is at milepost 43.7 miles. Turn right off U.S. Highway 61 and then right again. Drive 0.2 miles to the parking area.
TRAILHEAD GPS 47° 10′ 58.7″ N 913 24′ 26.8″ W
The highlight of this short hike on the shore of Lake Superior is the Corundum Mine Site, or, more correctly, the Oops-We-Thought-It-Was-Corundum Mine Site. The old mine site is on a point high above the lake. According to a state park brochure, Duluth prospector Ed Lewis claimed discovery of corundum at this location in 1901. Corundum is a mineral with a hardness next to diamonds that was used by grinding wheel manufacturers and the makers of sandpaper. In 1904, the North Shore Abrasives Company began mining this site. However, the mineral was not corundum but a softer mineral called anorthosite which is useless as an abrasive. The mine operated only until 1908.
An epidemic decimates the native peoples of New England, altering Best summer vacations in the US native life and paving the way for English colonization in the area. In 1620, Sir Ferdinando Best summer vacations in the US Gorges is instrumental in creating the Council for New England, of which he becomes the first president. The Council for New England has the authority to grant land, control trade, and administer colonies north of Virginia. David Thomson, Gorges, and John Mason all of whom would figure in New Hampshire’s early history will be issued patents by the council. Gorges’s time will be occupied with fighting against Spain and France, but John Mason will continue to devote money and energy to exploring and settling New Hampshire. 1629 The Maine patent is split into two portions; the northern portion remains under the control of Gorges, while Mason comes into possession of the lower half, which he names New Hampshire, after the county in England that is home to his family’s estate. Also in 1629, Gorges and Mason receive a charter for the Laconia Company, which is intended to divert beaver pelts from the Dutch and French operating in the area. The company goes bankrupt in 1634.
