Join us
Saturday, October 8 , 2016
9:00am - 12:00pm
at
Halfway Ranger Station Historic District
12223 MN-1 Ely, MN
13 Miles Southeast of Ely
This open house is the first time Halfway Ranger Station will be made available to the public since Northern Bedrock completed the executed agreement with the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station last fall. We hope this will be an opportunity to build community support for the site’s adaptive reuse and the ongoing efforts of Northern Bedrock to preserve historic structures and landscapes across the state of Minnesota. Tours of the site will be held throughout the morning and refreshments will be available. Click on the map above for directions to the site.
Fall on the Kawishawi River as it flows past Halfway. This photo was taken in 2007, at the very beginning of our journey to save the site.
Our 2016 crew at Halfway during corpsmember training this past June.
The Halfway Ranger Station Historic District is home to several buildings built by the Works Progress Administration and the Depression Era Civilian Conservation Corps. Located in the Superior National Forest, the site was first established as a Ranger Station in the early Twentieth Century and later used as a site for Forest Service research. In 2010, with no future plans for the site and deteriorating conditions, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service Northern Research Station (NRS) proposed disposal of the site. In reaction to the negative response to demolition from the community and the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office, alternatives were considered. It was at this time, that Northern Bedrock proposed an adaptive-reuse plan for the site, to serve as a training site for the organization. In collaboration with NRS, we listed the site on the National Register of Historic Places in November of 2011.
The USFS NRS executed an agreement with Northern Bedrock for management and adaptive reuse of the site in the fall of 2015. The organization has since begun preliminary rehabilitation efforts.
For more information about Halfway Ranger Station, visit the U.S. Forest Service National Research Station website.
LEFT: Corpsmembers Cassie and Patrick scrub the window screens found in the basement of the Ranger Dwelling. With the screens cleaned and in place, the windows can be thrown wide open and fresh air able to fill the dwelling. RIGHT: Corpsmember Katie shows off one of her more interesting finds, discovered while cleaning out the garage space this past June.
LEFT: Corpsmember Grayson and Paul lift the cement slabs thats serve as a walkway to the Ranger Dwelling. The slaps were leveled to ensure the safety of visitor to the site. RIGHT: The interior of the Lab/Classroom building taken this past June. We aren't sure if the mess was human or animal-made, but we have cleaned up all the packing peanuts.
The "Bunk House" in the fall of 2007. The Bunk House was built by the Works Progress Administration and is the oldest building on site. Today, the steps to the screened porch are nearly gone after nine years of weather has taken its toll.
The building that has come to be known as the "Wolf Cabin," photographed in 2007. The building was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps around 1935. Below, corpsmembers assess the conditions of the Wolf Cabin with the help of Technical Specialist, Tim McKenzie of the U.S. Forest Service. The crew worked to clean up the interior and exterior damage caused by powder-post beetles - the white powder on the walls, the result of the bugs burrowing into the wood.
Corpsmember Cassie on the steps of the Wolf Cabin this past June.
LEFT: Corpsmember Edward takes notes on the condition of the Wolf Cabin. RIGHT: Corpsmembers Katie, Dylan and Paul (front to back) prepare the exterior of the Wolf Cabin for an application of PeneTreat - a borate based log home preservative used to deter the powder-post beetle.
Contact us:
admin@northernbedrockcorps.org
Our mailing address is:
5165 North Shore Drive Duluth, Minn. 55804
