BlockFrench River, Minnesota
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1992. It stands in Duluth Township. It lies in ZIP code area 55804. It stands on French River. The Survey maps it on the French River quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 10 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1953 USGS Ashland quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1953 USGS French River quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS Ashland quadrangle1:250000
- 1980 USGS Port Wing quadrangle1:100000
- 1992 USGS French River quadrangle1:24000
What happened here
An account from the chapter on Duluth township. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.
Duluth And St. Louis County 611
April 13, * * * Washington was deeply moved by the intelligence that Fort Sumter * * * had been attacked * * * and * * * had surrendered. Early Sunday morning, accompanied by two citizens of Minnesota, I visited the War Department and found the secretary (Cameron) with his hat on and papers in his hand, about to leave his office.
Fires near this place
70 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 70 fires within 5 miles of French River between 1992 and 2020, burning about 26 acres in total. None started naturally. 10 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 28 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 10 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 9 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9 |
| Smoking | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 September 2012 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 18 September 2003 | Smoking | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 11 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 10 September 2011 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 6 August 2001 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 14 August 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 9 July 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 4 July 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of French River: 1 past producer, 1 plant. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckley Mill | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Plant | ||
| Buckley Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
4 since 2020Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names French River in 4 storm reports between 2020 and 2023: 2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2023 | Flash Flood | French River | $100,000 | Rainfall amounts of 5 to 7 inches were recorded across the Schmidt Creek basin on the 23rd and 24th with the vast majority of the rainfall occurring on the 24th. This amount of water was significantly more than the creek could handle and issues began near the headwaters. A small culvert carrying the creek under Pioneer Junction Road failed starting with a sinkhole in the road before the fast moving waters completely scoured a channel through the road. Further downstream just after passing under Minnesota Highway 61, the rapidly flowing water encountered another too small culvert that carried the creek under the tracks of the North Shore Scenic Railroad. The water proceeded to scour out this culvert as well exposing a bridge that was originally built by the railroad at this location over 100 years prior. An NSSR train had passed over the bridge about an hour before the culvert failed and noted the developing washout. The train was then stranded in Two Harbors until the washout could be repaired a few days later. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | French River | - | A tree was leaning against a power line along Lismore Road in Normanna Township. |
| June 2020 | Hail | French River | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | French River | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton | 1.7 miles | 10 | |
| Palmers | 3.1 miles | 10 | |
| Lakewood | 4.2 miles | 11 | |
| Lester Park | 7.7 miles | 17 | |
| Arnold | 10.3 miles | 15 | |
| Woodland | 10.5 miles | 17 | |
| Hunters Park | 10.5 miles | 17 | |
| Rice Lake | 11.4 miles | 15 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 661327. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.