TACONITE HARBOR, Minn. — If you’ve never heard of the town of Taconite Harbor, it might be because it doesn’t exist anymore.

“There’s still a light pole. And this was Main Street right here,” said Skip Lamb, pointing to a street that nature has slowly taken back. “This was all mowed lawns, and this was where all the folks lived.”

From the mid-50s to the mid-80s, the Taconite Harbor community thrived. There were about 20 homes along with a town hall, fire hall and even a school with sports teams.

A basketball court remains, which used to mark the middle of town.

Lamb was once a little league coach in Taconite Harbor. Now, he’s a historian for a time that was. The town’s history goes like this: a break wall was built around two nearby islands on Lake Superior to protect boats picking up iron ore.

“Then they needed a town for the people to live in that were going to run it. And they had to build them houses because there wasn’t any housing here. They built the entire city,” said Lamb.

Many residents worked at the loading dock, and during the boom, they shipped taconite pellets to the East Coast. Ten million tons of taconite a year came from the town. Then came the bust. In the early 80s, the industry hit an all-time low, forcing many families to leave and find work elsewhere.

“This is part of the Iron Range saga. Where towns get abandoned, moved out, homes get moved,” said Lamb.

After the residents left, a real estate developer bought the houses, moved them and sold them off one by one. They were gone by the early 90s. A decade later, the dock was also abandoned.

“We feel very committed in telling the rest of the story about Taconite Harbor,” said Steve Schug.

In the nearby town of Schroeder, Taconite Harbor lives on. 

“At one time, it was the fastest ore-loading facility on the Great Lakes,” said Schug.

Schug is the president of the Cross River Heritage Center. This summer they have an exhibit celebrating the abandoned harbor town.

“We have Taconite Harbor reunions frequently here at the Heritage Center and a lot of people come for that,” Schug said.

The exhibit looks at the highlights and lowlights of the community’s history. For instance, at one point, taconite dust would turn a lot of things red. That included fresh laundry hanging from clotheslines.

“I had a laundry mat. I had to have three washing machines just to wash red clothes,” said Lamb.

There was also a train derailment involving more than 90 cars loaded with taconite. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. But for people who once lived and prospered here, the good memories far outweigh the bad.

“It’s important that people understand that it was a viable community, it was a town,” said Lamb. “It was a fun place to live, and it was a fun place for these kids to grow up.”

You can still visit a portion of the abandoned Taconite Harbor on the North Shore.