The New International Encyclopædia/Duluth

DULUTH, dū̇-lo͞oth′. A city and lake port, the county-seat of Saint Louis County, Minn., at the western end of Lake Superior, 158 miles northeast of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and adjacent to the city of Superior, Wis. (Map: Minnesota, F 4). The city is especially favored with facilities for transportation by rail and water. It is the terminus of the Chicago and Northwestern, the Great Northern, the Northern Pacific, and of six other railroads, and of thirteen steamship lines. Duluth has a natural harbor, nine miles long and two miles wide, entrance to which is made by two canals, the principal one being at Duluth, the other seven miles south, both piercing the narrow strip of land called Minnesota Point, which separates the lake from the harbor. The city's trade by water is greatly facilitated by the Sault Sainte Marie Canal (the traffic of which greatly exceeds that of the Suez Canal), and is considerably increased by the fact that this is the nearest shipping town on the lakes for the Northwest. Duluth now ranks among the leading shipping points in the United States. Of its exports, lumber, flour, iron ore, coal, and grain are the most important. It has a large blast-furnace, iron-works, machine-shops, match-factories, sawmills. flour-mills, and other industrial works. The Highland Canal and Power System under construction is designed to promote industrial and commercial interests by supplying cheap and abundant water-power. The water is to be conveyed through iron piping from reservoirs on the hill above the city to the level of the lake, a fall of about 760 feet, rendering available power estimated at 60,000 horse-power. Duluth is the seat of a Protestant Episcopal and a Roman Catholic bishop. It has a public library, a Carnegie library, State Normal School, United States Fisheries building, United States custom house, board of trade, and a hydrographic office. There are 400 acres of parks and 20 miles of boulevards. Lester, Lincoln, and Chester parks, and Lakeview Terrace, a drive 500 feet above the lake, command grand views. Fond Du Lac, a suburb, was the site of the Astor trading post in 1752.

The government is administered under the charter of 1900 by a mayor, elected biennially, and a unicameral council. The executive appoints the board of public works, water, light, and fire commissioners, civil service commission, city assessor, and the chief and all members of the police department, and (with the consent of the council) the attorney, health commissioner. and board of health, municipal labor bureau commissioners, city engineer, building inspector, and library and park boards. All other municipal officers, excepting the city clerk, who is chosen by the council, are elected by the people. The city owns and operates its waterworks and gas plant. The annual income is about $1,700,000; annual expenditure (including amounts for schools which are separately administered through a school district independent of the municipality), $1,650,000-$1,000,000 being spent for maintenance and operation. The principal items of expense are: schools, $357,000; fire department, $87,000; water-works, $65,000; police department, $41,000; and gas-works, $22,000. Duluth was first permanently settled in 1853, and takes its name from Daniel Gresolon, Sieur du Lhut, who, in 1679-80, visited this vicinity. In 1870, with a population of about 3000, it was incorporated as a city. Since then its growth has been very rapid, a population of 3483 in 1880 having increased to 33,115 in 1890, and in 1900 to 52,969, including 21,000 persons of foreign birth and 400 of negro descent.