Ships in the Harbor and Ships on Stone: Grand Marais as a Maritime Cultural Landscape on Lake Superior

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The Grand Marais community in northeastern Minnesota (USA) is centered on a natural harbor in the rocky shore of Lake Superior. This paper describes a current effort to evaluate the harbor as a maritime cultural landscape and historic district for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, with elements including archaeological sites (underwater and terrestrial), buildings, and structures, connected by defining landscape features. The harbor, Gitchi Bitobig, is important to the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. After the Treaty of 1854, it provided a base and refuge for Great Lakes shipping and commercial fishing. Navigation improvements to the harbor were initiated in the late nineteenth century. The small town later became a tourist destination and artist’s colony. Archaeological sites include remnants of Great Lakes vessels Liberty and Elgin, and historical graffiti etched on rock at the harbor’s edge, including the image of a masted ship.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SHA 2022 General Sessions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology