One of our canoe trip outfitting guests shared some historic photos from the old
Basswood Lodge on Basswood Lake near Ely, MN. The photos are from the
collection of her late father, Harold Rosencrans, of Lebanon, Ohio.
Harold vacationed with his family on Basswood Lake. The
photos may be from the 50s or 60s. Above is a color postcard of Basswood Fishing Lodge, and the
two images below appear to be photographs.
Basswood Lodge was known in part for exceptional log craftsmanship. After the federal government bought out all of these
old resorts, some of the log cabins were disassembled, moved, and
reassembled outside of the BWCA. One example is the Ely Chamber of
Commerce - which was formerly one of the log cabins at Basswood Lodge.
Some of the locations of old lodges are now sites of BWCA campsites, and an excellent campsite is now near the location of this historic resort. But tent campers today won't see the human-made structures shown in these photos. The lodge, spectacular dock system and bridge shown in these photographs live on only in photographs and memories.
If you have historic Boundary Waters photos and an interest in sharing them, please let us know and we're happy to post them with your stories on our blog.
