Forestry Department

About forestry service, 55702, Alborn, MN, US, Minnesota

Floodwood is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 517 at the 2020 census. Originally a logging community, Floodwood was a dairy community for most of its history, but could now be best described as a bedroom community, since most of its working population finds employment in nearby Duluth, Grand Rapids, Hibbing and Cloquet. The city calls itself "The Catfish Capital of the World", a nickname it gave itself following the introduction of its annual Catfish Days festival. U.S. Highway 2 and State Highway 73 (MN 73) are two of the main routes in Floodwood. == History == Long before the city of Floodwood existed, the intersection of the East Savanna River with the Saint Louis River made what later became Floodwood a strategic economic location. The Savanna Portage was a major route for transportation in the southern Arrowhead, but its importance was magnified greatly with the arrival of European fur traders, who used the route to access rich resources of beaver and other fur animals in the upper Mississippi valley. As early as 1679, Europeans were passing by the modern location of Floodwood as they turned from the Saint Louis River to the East Savanna River on their way to the portage. It was not until the late 19th century that homesteads began to appear in the area. In 1889, it was announced that a railroad would pass through the area.