| ||||
| ||||
| ||||
From the Mayor
Greetings from the citizens of the City of Deer River, Deer River grew from a trapper's shack in 1861 to a permanent settlement in 1882. Logging played a major role in our development. The Minneapolis & Rainy River Railway built a track north to the Bigfork River for hauling timber. The “Gut and Liver Railroad”, as the lumberjacks called it, also hauled men and supplies to the logging camps. Soon early settlers rode it north to establish homesteads. Deer River had 13 saloons and earned the reputation of being “the longest whiskey row" in the state. A well known itinerant preacher known as “the Sky Pilot” always made it a point to be in town at spring breakup to try and persuade the jacks to take their money and leave town. In 1898 the town was incorporated with a population of 181. At one time, during the lumber camp days, the population was quite large, in the thousands, to accommodate the lumberjacks with rest and recreation. Today the community has settled into being a quiet tourism and logging area. A recreation of a Northwest Company fur post, which was active in the 1790's, draws many visitors. We are also home to the White Oak Classic Dog Sled Race and the “Worlds Largest Wild Rice Festival”. We have year round fishing at numerous local lakes and lots of opportunity for hunting ducks, ruffed grouse and white tails in the thousands of acres of public forests in the area. Many people come just to enjoy the numerous hiking and skiing trails. Although the city population has diminished somewhat, with folks settling outside the limits, the community is still growing. Our locals have a hard work ethic and an independent spirit. Welcome to our community, share the warmth and friendliness of our citizens, enjoy our beautiful resources and please help to preserve our bounty for our grandchildren and others to share in the future. John O’Brien Mayor, City of Deer River | ||||
|
Mayor John O'Brien City Council
| ||||
 |
 |
 |
 |