Some loggers left their debris behind giving the fires more fuel on which to grow. With the blowing winds, low humidity and less than two inches of rain from May until September, the area was a prime target for a fire.īecause of the dryness of the summer, fires were common in the woods, along railroad tracks and in logging camps where loggers would set fire to their slashings to clean up before moving on. Still today, that year stands as one of the driest on record. On September 1, 1894, all of that changed. With the coming of the railroad, the lumber industry boomed and for twenty years, Hinckley was a growing, prosperous town with a population of 1,400. In the same year, the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad pushed its railroad building operation into Hinckley, and finally into Duluth by 1870. Croix River since the mid 1800's and knew of the abundance of natural wealth the land had to offer.īecause of the large stand of white pine trees in the Hinckley area, loggers migrated here and the first sawmill was built in 1869. The Ojibwe Indians had lived near the St. However, these settlers were not the first to inhabit the area. This is what the first settlers saw as they moved into the area around Hinckley. Imagine, if you will a canopy of white pine trees so thick that the blue sky and sunshine were hard to see.

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