“1855-Lake Superior’s First Tourists Arrive”

Join us for the Voices of the Lake speaker series on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 at 6:30p.m. as Duluth Historian Ronald Mershart gives us a glimpse into the expansion of tourism to the Lake Superior Region. Today tourism is the backbone of our local economy but not so long ago, the Lake Superior Region was considered a wild unknown to settlers in the east. In the middle of the 19th century city folk began to explore this area lured by the opportunity to see new people, wildlife and landscapes. The middle of the 19th century was a time of great exploration and expansion throughout North America. People were heading west to “wild” parts of the United States, and this included the Northern Frontier. Railroads began to expand west and steamships carried tourists to new destinations. Newspapers, magazines, and novels began to romanticize the Wild West piquing the interest of travelers. Duluth was easy to access by train and steamer and thus became a popular tourist destination.
The Voices of the Lake speaker series takes place on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 6:30pm in the Great Lakes Aquarium lobby. The cost of the presentations for the general public is $3; GLA members are free. Parking is complimentary. For more information on the speaker series please contact Sara Kubarek at [email protected].