115 St Louis Ave
Cloquet, MN, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Northeastern Hotel

Statement of Significance:

The Northeastern Hotel was built in 1904 on the site of an earlier structure which burned in that year. The original structure on this site was built in 1885 at the time of the development of Dunlap Island. At this time, the sale of intoxicating beverages was discouraged by landowners on both sides of the river, but not on the island. Dunlap Island thus became a well-known landmark in the area. During its heyday (ca. 1911), seventeen saloons and bars were built on St. Louis Avenue, the main street of the island, and the several streets intersecting it. The Northeastern Hotel was a major establishment on the island during this period.

Events of October 12, 1918, changed the history of the Northeastern Hotel. That day, a forest fire burned through much of Carlton County and the surrounding counties. It has been described as having generated "great heat and gale-force winds" which drove the fire "forward with frightening speed and momentum.

In all, 1500 square miles were burned in an area of 8400 square miles in the counties of Carlton, St. Louis, Pine, Aitkin, Itasca, Cass, Wadena and Crow Wing. During this firestorm, the city of Cloquet burned to the ground. All that remained of Cloquet after the fire were three of the five sawmills in the city, one school building, several isolated scattered houses and the structures along St. Louis Avenue on Dunlap Island.

The decision was made almost immediately to rebuild the city. By August of 1919, this task was well underway. During the fall and winter of 1918, however, there were few structures available for fire relief efforts. During this time, the Northeastern Hotel became the Red Cross headquarters. It also served as a hospital for fire victims and for victims of the 1918 influenza outbreak, while its bar became the United States Post Office. In addition, it was used as a temporary shelter for laborers returning to work in the sawmills.

Shortly after the fire, it was reported by the National Guard:

"Temporary quarters were established in the old buildings on the island. Sgt. Gus Apel, Sanitary Detachment, 4th Infantry, established a dispensary in the old Northeastern Hotel building, and a steady stream of refugees were given first aid there. Sgt. Apel was constantly on the job, for 36 hours without rest and dressed the burns of hundreds of refugees. For several days his dispensary was the only place in Cloquet that medical attention could be secured, and the service performed by him was of a very high order.

The importance of the role the Northeastern Hotel played after the fire was highlighted in the "Fire Anniversary Number" of the Cloquet Pine-Knot:

"In common with everything else, the matter of handling the mail was in a chaotic condition for a few days. A considerable quantity of mall was burned in the local post office and immediately following the fire the railway service was disconnected on any sort of a definite schedule. Postmaster E. S. Scheibe, however, did not stop to consider future difficulties, but jumped into the job immediately and rented temporary quarters in the Northeastern Hotel building on Dunlap Island, which had providentially escaped the general conflagration. The clerks and carriers were scattered far and wide, and practically everybody to whom mail came here was living someplace else. A temporary crew was assembled, mail was forwarded as addresses became known, order was brought out of confusion and in a surprisingly short time regular delivery service was again inaugurated here. This was an exceedingly hard job to handle but Mr. Scheibe got away with it in commendable shape and is deserving of full credit therefor.”

During Prohibition, the Northeastern Hotel continued to operate, with the bar becoming an ice cream parlor. After Prohibition, the bar again began to serve liquor. The hotel (ca. 1940’s) became a well-known family restaurant. By the early 1960's, the restaurant was discontinued, although the bar and hotel continued to operate. The Northeastern Hotel continues to operate today as a bar and a hotel, serving as a reminder of both the logging and fire history of this city.