Fun Facts - Rutledge

1. When the Point Douglas to Superior Government Road came through Pine County in the 1850s, a stopping place was established two and a half miles downstream from what would later become Rutledge. Stagecoach drivers stopped there to rest or change their horses and allow passengers to stretch and get something to eat.

2. In 1870, the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad founded the Kettle River station with a depot, water tank, wood yard, and two sections houses. It was the only station between Hinckley and Moose Lake.

3. Loggers soon discovered the stands of pine around Kettle River, which was soon home to the Folsom Mill, built in the 1870s. When the mill burned in 1892, it was replaced by the Rutledge Lumber Company mill, which at its peak, sawed up to three million board feet of lumber every year.

4. The Rutledge Lumber Company also constructed a post office, store, and houses for its employees.

5. On February 14, 1893, residents incorporated their little village of Kettle River, changing its name to Rutledge.

6. The Rutledge Lumber Company flourished for several years. In 1895, it claimed the record for the largest load of logs hauled by a four-horse team. This load consisted of 56 logs, which were stacked 26 feet high, measured 16 to 22 feet in length, and consisted of 37,120 board feet.

7. By 1906, logging was pretty much complete in the Rutledge area, and the Rutledge Lumber Company closed. The town quickly decreased in size as company employees moved on to different jobs.

8. In 1909, Rutledge had two churches (Catholic and Methodist), a general store, a saloon, and a population of 225 people.

Sources: One Hundred Years in Pine County; Pine County...and Its Memories by Jim Cordes

Rutledge Lumber Company's largest load of logs hauled by a four-horse team, 1895