Strange History – Duluth Was Never Supposed To Have Canal Or Lift Bridge

Did you know that the Duluth Canal was dug under the cover of the night? That's the folklore, and there are historical facts that support it. It's an interesting story about how the rivalry began between the Twin Ports cities of Superior, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Minnesota. You could argue that Duluth stole the harbor from Superior.

Natural Entry Into Duluth + Superior Is Through the Wisconsin Side

The natural entry for shipping traffic has always been through the Superior entry on Wisconsin Point. That's where ships started arriving when Great Lakes Shipping started in the mid-1800s.

It Was Good For Superior, But Bad For Duluth

This was great for Superior, because the ships would be closer to their side and more likely to load and unload at their docks. It would be good for the growth of the city. At the same time, Duluth wanted to have shipping come directly to their side. The problem was that there wasn't a natural entry.

The United States Government saw the cost-effective solution was to make improvements to the Superior entry and use that as the primary shipping canal. It made sense, right?

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Duluth Takes Matters Into Its Own Hands

Duluth still wanted to have its own access, so it teamed up with the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad to dig the canal on its own dime. Wisconsin politicians saw that it would threaten traffic through Superior, so they went to the War Department to get the project shut down. They were successful in obtaining an injunction, but it was two months to late.

According to the local lore, on April 30, 1981, a group of residents (some say criminals), dug the first connection of the canal with shovels and picks under the cover of the night.

Eventually, the injunction was lifted, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers took over control of the lift bridge and canal in 1887.

Things Would Have Looked Drastically Different Without the Duluth Canal

Without the canal in Duluth, we wouldn't have the iconic Aerial Lift Bridge. Who knows what the Twin Ports and Great Lakes Shipping would have looked like today?