New Minnesota Reflections content from the Duluth Public Library

The Duluth Public Library was one of the participants in the MDL/DPLA Public Library Partnerships Project grant.  While the library has contributed to Minnesota Reflections in the past, we were pleased to work with them to bring in a widely varied and fascinating set of additional materials.

Duluth Public’s PLPP contributions included:

• The first Duluth City Directory, for 1882-1883.  Directories like these are rich sources of information on the businesses and residents of the time and include interesting and informative advertisements. The Norris House, for example, located at 44 Superior Street and charging $1 per day for boarding by the day or week, promoted itself as a “headquarters for Canadians and Lumbermen,” and boasted that a “fine billiard hall” had just been added to the hotel.

• Annual Reports of the Duluth Board of Education, 1884-1890 and 1920-1922. Digitizing these reports filled gaps in the set already available online through HathiTrust. The reports include details of the curriculum for all the subjects from first grade through high school, reports from superintendents and treasurers, floor plans and photos of some of the schools, and even a list of all the books in the high school library. Early reports include the names of the year’s graduating students.

• Maps of Duluth, St. Louis County and portage routes and old trails in Jay Cooke State Park. 

• Publications from 1898 and 1915 capturing the memories of early Duluth residents as well as a more recent publication showing, through photographs, the area of Gary-New Duluth as it looked in 1976.

• Pictorial calendars published between 1966 and 1976.  Each calendar highlights a specific aspect of Duluth, such as the Duluth Playhouse, the then-newly-developed Spirit Mountain, or the impact of the severe summer storm season of 1972.

Many thanks to Duluth Public Library for hosting one of our PLPP training sessions back in 2014, for being such an enthusiastic PLPP participant, and especially to Kris Aho for coordinating  project on the Library’s end.