Restoration work continues on historic Tettegouche Camp
Tucked inside the interior of the 9,000-acre Tettegouche State Park is a historic camp consisting of four rustic cabins, a boathouse, and a lodge.
The site, known as Tettegouche Camp, is not accessible by vehicle and requires a certain level of commitment for adventurers looking to make the 3.5-mile trek from the main parking lot or a shorter yet steeper 1.7-mile jaunt from Lax Lake Road. The remote and historic buildings have a rich history that stems from the mid-1890s.
Tettegouche Camp was first established in 1895 by the Alger-Smith Lumber Company to house loggers and railroad workers along the North Shore. After logging activity decreased in the early 1900s, the camp and surrounding area transformed into a fishing camp and retreat. Shortly after that, Tettegouche Camp was sold to a group of Duluth businessmen who used it from 1921 to 1971.
The state of Minnesota acquired the camp and surrounding 9,000 acres in 1979 and created the now notable Tettegouche State Park. With its immense level of history, Tettegouche Camp was placed on the National Register of Historic Places ten years later in 1989.
As is the norm with historic buildings, restoration work, and maintenance is an ongoing and labored effort. In 2022, Tettegouche State Park reroofed several cabins and the boathouse. This summer, the proposed work includes structural roof repairs, reroofing, foundation repair, log replacement, and rebuilding of log crib docks that support the boat shelter.
“Cabin A and cabin B are going to get some foundation work done, particularly cabin B,” said Katie Foshay, the park manager at Tettegouche State Park. “Due to the proximity to the lake, the cabin shifts a lot with freeze and thaw, which can make it difficult to get in and out of the cabins.”
Foshay said the foundational work is a priority for the state park. In addition, replacing the cribbing on the boathouse is essential. “The cribbing that is inside the lake is starting to deteriorate. So we’re going to have the cribbing redone there.”
Construction will begin in May, and Foshay said the cabins and surrounding area would be closed to the public to ensure everyone’s safety. However, the trails in the surrounding area will remain open. But Foshay says, “just be cautious.”
Tettegouche Camp is open for visitors of the park to visit or reserve an overnight stay. Foshay says, unfortunately, the park will not be taking reservations this summer but hopes to open the cabins up as soon as the work is completed.
Tettegouche State Park was awarded $105,000 from the Legacy Fund and the Land and Water Conservation Fund to support the project’s archeology consultant and masonry repairs.
In addition to restoring the historic cabins, the park continues to work towards replacing the swing bridge by High Falls that was damaged by spring flooding in 2022. “We’re working to get a bridge replacement up there,” Foshay said. “Hoping by 2024, we can have a bridge there, and we can open that back up to the public.”
WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Katie Foshay, the park manager at Tettegouche State Park, about the 2023 restoration work at Tettegouche Camp. Audio below.
Kalli Hawkins April 1, 2023
