Northern Wilds

This summer, the resort will also hold special beach events, including a fish boil Aug. 18 with music by Michael Monroe and an Octoberfest Oct. 1 with music by The Splinters. The anniversary celebration will conclude with the Fall Food & Wine Lover’s Weekend Nov. 12-14.

George and Patty Nelson (left) will present a fireside chat at Lutsen Resort’s Gala Birthday Celebration Oct. 15-16. They are shown here with resort owners Nancy Burns and Scott Harrison.

Lutsen Resort was founded in 1885 by 22-year-old Charles Axel Nelson, (C.A.A.), a Swedish immigrant who arrived in Duluth in 1881 and was hired on as a captain of a fishing tug by the A. Booth Company. The young Swede’s favorite spot was the little cove at the mouth of the Poplar River, and he purchased a homestead site there for $12, according to a recent history published by the resort.

“He got a lot of real estate --- all the way up to Moose Mountain,” said Scott Harrison, who with his wife, Nancy Burns, is a principal owner of Lutsen Resort. “It was a big deal.”

Nelson and his wife Anna built a home on the ridge overlooking the the beautiful little cove. It was an isolated spot, with no roads, but loggers, miners and travelers would still show up at their door. More often than not, the children would give up their beds to the weary travelers, Harrison said. Nelson soon realized that there was a need for lodging, and built a larger house with rooms upstairs for guests, beginning the long history of Lutsen Resort hospitality.

This historic view show’s resort as it appeared about 100 years ago.

The first road from Duluth was completed in 1918, and guests began coming to the resort to hike, fish and hunt. Doctors also recommended stays on the North Shore for people with allergies. And moose and bear hunters discovered they could easily get trophies in the woods here.

And the lodge kept adding rooms and growing. There have been a few disasters. A dormitory and the main lodge burned in 1948, and fired destroyed the rebuilt lodge in 1951. The beautiful Swedish-style timber lodge we know today was designed by Edwin Lundie and first opened in 1952.

The Nelsons have always been creators and innovators. C.A.A. built a hydroelectric plant on the Poplar River in 1918 for the lodge.

“They were the first accommodations (on the North Shore) that had running water and lights,” said George Nelson, Jr.

George, Jr., who served in the 10th Mountain Division Ski Troops during World War II, returned to the resort after the war and convinced his father, George, Sr., to winterize the lodge and build a couple of rope tows.

The result? The first ski resort in Minnesota. At the time, “we didn’t know we had the best mountains between New England and the Rockies,” George, Jr. said. Lutsen Mountains was sold to Charles Skinner in 1980.

The innovations at the resort continued. In 1955, a Mylar Bubble was built over the pool, the first of its kind in the world. And in 1968, George Jr. introduced the idea of condominiums to the North Shore with the Sea Villa Townhomes development.

Current principal owners Scott Harrison and Nancy Burns have continued that innovative tradition.

The Lakeside Log Homes were built and then the Poplar River Condominiums were developed as well as a recreational building at Sea Villas. And, in 2005, the Cliffhouse Townhomes were built. Harrison and Burns also began developing outdoors activities programs for guests

Past employees as well as guests, neighbors and friends are invited to the Gala Birthday Party Oct. 15-16. George Jr. and Patty will give a Fireside Chat on Saturday at 4 p.m. And on Saturday night, there will be a traditional North Shore meal culminating with the popping of a 15-litre bottle of champagne from France.

To find out more about the resort and the anniversary events, visit www.lutsenresort.com.