Grand Marais partners with Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office on archeological survey

Despite the long history of human habitation of the North Shore, there are still some pockets where historical records are sparse. A partnership between the City of Grand Marais and the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office aims to help fill some of those gaps.

Ron Schirmer is an archeology professor at Minnesota State University – Mankato. He will be leading a team conducting an archeological survey in Grand Marais and Grand Marais Harbor. He told WTIP that the Earth Systems Research Lab at MSU Mankato will work alongside the Minnesota Historical Society, Office of the State Archeologist, the State Historic Preservation Office, and the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council. The project is part of the Statewide Survey of Historic and Archeological sites.

“Not a lot of Archeological Survey has been done up on the North Shore region,” Schirmer said. “And as we know, there’s a lot of native history as well as a lot of European history in the area, so understanding where those sites are, what they consist of, what the different types of sites are, all of that also helps us understand how people are interacting with the environment.”

The survey will focus on land owned by the city, and Schirmer said that residents may see archeologists conducting shovel tests, but added that some of the survey will take place in the woods, and might not be as visible.

Though work had to pause for the winter, Schirmer said that archeologists already began scoping the survey area last fall in preparation for the work that will take place this year.

WTIP’s CJ Heithoff spoke with archeologist Ron Schirmer about the project. Audio of the interview is below.

Kirsten Wisniewski April 21, 2026