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Tag Archives: National Register of Historic Places

Lodgings I have known: Clearwater Historic Lodge

words and images Posted on February 13, 2020 by dlschirfMarch 12, 2023

It’s high time I wrote about some of the places I’ve stayed — not the chains, but bed and breakfasts, inns, and other local places.

Steeped in history, August 5, 6, and 7, 2014

Like Rippon-Kinsella House in Springfield, Illinois, Clearwater Historic Lodge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Located off the Gunflint Trail west of Grand Marais, Minnesota, Clearwater Historic Lodge overlooks the lake and palisades, although I remember a healthy stand of conifers filtering the view. It’s also a great spot for getting outfitted for a Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness adventure.

Arrival at Clearwater Lake Lodge
August 5, 2014
National Register of Historic Places

At Clearwater Historic Lodge, I thoroughly enjoyed: a lengthy thunderstorm that started after we had carried most of our things in, watching small shapes (likely bats) flit around in the inky darkness, the view of the lake through the trees from the back porch, the view of the lake from the imaginatively named Suite A, a brief canoe outing and the view of the distant palisades before black flies ate my ankles, the gift shop, and the comfortable main room.

With places to go and things to see, I didn’t have nearly enough time at the lodge.

At breakfast I found out one of the employees was a descendant of the original owners. I think she said she had never been in a canoe. I couldn’t imagine.

A stay at Clearwater Historic Lodge forces you to give up your constant attraction to the online world. Daytime’s slow satellite connection is limited (and a guest had inadvertently used up the monthly allotment on videos). In the wee hours, access was unlimited, but the cloud cover and/or the trees, which I loved, seemed to make it erratic. You can almost get away from it all and focus on the Gunflint Trail experience you can’t have anywhere else.

Below is part of the Clearwater Historic Lodge entry for the National Register of Historic Places, aka places I hate to leave . . .

The oldest surviving guesthouse on the Gunflint Trail, Clearwater Lodge is historically significant for its pioneering, and continuing, contribution to the Cook County tourist industry.

In 1893, the Cook County Board of Commissioners finished the last stretch of road linking Grand Marais to Gun Flint, a mining community about 45 miles north on the Canadian border. Although the completion of the “Gunflint Trail” was primarily a testimony to the political power of the county’s mining interests, the road was also a boon to homesteaders who settled the area during the early 1900s.2 Among these early residents were Charles (“Charlie”), and Petra Boostrom, who, in 1916, purchased 80 acres of land on the western shore of Clearwater Lake, just east of the Superior National Forest. There the Boostroms erected a small log cabin. Over the next ten years, Charlie earned a reputation as one of the area’s foremost trappers and hunters.

During the 1920s, an increasing number of tourists discovered the woods and lakes of Cook County, and Charlie found an increasing part of his livelihood as a guide for sport hvinting and fishing parties. To capitalize on the emerging tourist trade, he and Petra constructed Clearwater Lodge in 1925-1926. Completion of the building coincided with the construction of an automobile road connecting the new resort to the Gunflint Trail. Over the next two decades the Gunflint Trail developed into a major vacation spot, and Clearwater Lodge earned a statewide reputation for its hospitality. After the Boostroms retired from the tourist business in 1945, Clearwater Lodge went through several changes in ownership until, in 1964, it became the property of Jack (“Jocko”) Nelson and his wife Lee. The Nelsons renamed the resort “Jocko’s Clearwater Lodge.” Although Jack Nelson died in 1978, his widow continues to operate the lodge as a summer resort.

Untitled
Clearwater Lake
Clearwater Lake before the storm?
Weird storm lighting
Toward the Clearwater Lake Lodge gift shop
Entrance by gift shop
Clearwater Lake Lodge, Suite A
Cozy room
Palisades from canoe level on Clearwater Lake
Palisades from canoe eye level
Moon at Clearwater Lake
Moon over Minnesota
Morning view from Clearwater Lake Lodge porch
Morning on the back porch
Main room at Clearwater Lake Lodge
Main room
Main room at Clearwater Lake Lodge
Main room
Clearwater Lake Lodge
I’m a lumberjack, and I’m okay . . .
Leaving Clearwater Lake Lodge
Hated to leave . . .
Posted in Adventure, Blog | Tagged Gunflint Trail, lodgings, Minnesota, National Register of Historic Places, photo, travel | 5 Replies

Lodgings I have known: Rippon-Kinsella House

words and images Posted on February 9, 2020 by dlschirfMay 11, 2020

It’s high time I wrote about some of the places I’ve stayed — not the chains, but bed and breakfasts, inns, and other local places.

Steeped in history, April 24 and 25, 2010
Rippon-Kinsella House in Springfield, Illinois
Rippon-Kinsella House, Springfield, Illinois
April 25, 2010

While visiting the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, Illinois, I stayed at the Rippon-Kinsella House, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and has a Wikipedia entry. I think I may have stayed in the Maid’s Room, the smallest of the three rooms. The house is very elegant, but what I remember most is the garden, which is lovely, and the residential area around it. The owners were charming and amused but helpful when we tried to find a restaurant in Springfield open after 9 p.m. Sadly, it sounds like one of the owners has become seriously ill, and the inn closed December 31, 2017.

You can find out more about Rippon-Kinsella House’s history from its entry form for the National Register of Historic Places (PDF).

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Posted in Adventure, Blog | Tagged Illinois, lodgings, National Register of Historic Places, photo, travel | Leave a reply

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