Carlton county lies between St. Louis county on the north, Pine on the south, Douglas county, Wisconsin, on the east and Aitkin on the west, and contains twenty-four townships. It is abundantly watered by the St. Louis river and its many tributaries on the northeast, by the tributaries of the Nemadji and Kettle rivers on the south. It is well timbered with pine and hardwoods. The St. Louis river affords one of the finest water powers in the Northwest. The rapids of this stream extend from the falls at Cloquet to Fond du Lac, a distance of twelve miles. The channel is rocky, the rocks being of a trappean or slaty formation, not easily worn by the water, and capable of furnishing good foundations for dams and mills. The first settlers were A. K. Lovejoy, Cephas Bradley, Joseph Meyers, Sexton Lyons, and some others. Mr. Lovejoy died at Thomson, Feb. 11, 1888, aged sixty-three years, leaving a wife. They had been the parents of twenty-four children, twelve pairs of twins. The county was named in honor of R. B. Carlton, who was a representative in the first state legislature. Mr. Carlton died at Fond du Lac, Sept. 10, 1863.
The county was organized in 1858, and the county seat located at Twin Lakes, but changed by act of legislature to Thomson. It is subdivided into five towns, Knife Falls, Mahtowa, Moose Lake, Thomson, and Twin Lakes. It has a well defined slate stone range running from northeast to southwest. The same range crops out at Little Falls, Morrison county.
THOMSON.
The village of Thomson, the county seat of Carlton county, is located on the St. Louis river. The Northern Pacific railroad crosses at this point. A. M. Miller erected a steam saw mill here in 1873. The mill has a capacity of 100,000 feet per day, and has been a profitable enterprise. A. K. Lovejoy operates a saw mill six miles northwest, which has a capacity of 35,000 feet. The village of Thomson has a good graded school with two departments.
CLOQUET,
Located on the St. Louis river, was surveyed and platted in 1871. In 1878 Charles D. Harwood erected a steam saw mill at this point with a capacity of 50,000 feet. This was the beginning of a thriving manufacturing village. In 1883 the Knife Falls Lumber Company rebuilt the Harwood mill, increasing its capacity to 180,000 feet per day. In 1884 the property was transferred to Renwick, Crossett & Co. James Paine, McNair and others built a water power saw mill in 1880, with a capacity of 100,000 feet per day. The C. N. Nelson Company, in 1880, built two steam saw mills with a capacity of 350,000 feet per day. A post office was established in 1879; C. D. Harwood, postmaster. The village was platted and incorporated in 1882; William P. Allen was the first president of the council. It has two newspapers, the Pine Knot Journal, established by Ed. Gottry and J. H. Page in 1884, and the Industrial Vidette, established in 1887. It contains three church organizations with good buildings, the Catholic, Methodist and Presbyterian.
MOOSE LAKE STATION,
On the St. Paul & Duluth railroad, is surrounded by a good farming country, and is a pretty, prosperous village. It has a post office, about sixty dwellings and a saw mill.
BARNUM STATION,
On the line of the same road, contains a post office, a saw mill with a capacity of about 50,000 feet daily, a few fine residences, with fine farms adjoining.