Burt and Gamble Railroad site.
This geocache is located near the site of the Burt and Gamble west unloading station on the banks of Grand Marais Creek. Cut logs from the original forest were unloaded from rail cars and rolled down the bank into the creek. The Burt and Gamble was a logging railroad that began hauling logs in 1879-80. It is one of the earliest use of railroads to transport logs from the woods in the entire country. Wellington R. Burt and his son-in-law Henry Gamble were early logging developers in this area and ran a sawmill on East Bay of the Grand Marais harbor. In those days, the Sucker River did not run through here, but the Sucker turned eastward about 2 1/2 miles east from here where the river crosses present day H-58 near Pull-Up Hill Road. The logs were cut on the plains south of there near the Whitewash Logging site and floated down the Sucker to a mill pond created for the railroad. Logs were loaded onto rail cars at the eastern site and unloaded at the western site near this geocache. Grand Marais Creek empties into East Bay of the harbor. Sections of the old railroad grade can be seen near here in the School Forest. Eventually, a channel was dug and the Sucker River was diverted to flow westward at The Pull-Up Hill and tied into Grand Marais Creek just downstream of this geocache site. The railroad was no longer needed as the logs could be floated all the way down the Sucker into East Bay of the harbor and to the saw mill. The Burt and Gamble Railroad ceased operations in 1888. The Sucker River still flows along this path to this day.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS
From Grand Marais at the bandstand, drive east on H-58 for 4.0 miles until you see the sign for the School Forest. Past the sign, turn left on School Forest Road, take this road for 0.5 miles and turn left at Superior Pines road. You will go past the Disc Golf course, take Superior Pines for 0.4 mile and you can park at the School Forest cabin foundation. The foundation is recognizable by the chimney and fireplace still standing after the cabin burnt down sometime in the 1930's. Suggest you walk to the geocache, about 1/4 mile. You can drive down the road further, but the road gets narrower and isn't in the best of shape.