The Grand Portage Story

by Carolyn Ives Gilman

A compelling history of the legendary fur trade crossroads in northern Minnesota where Indian and European cultures have competed with and accommodated each other for nearly three centuries. Today Grand Portage National Monument, which embraces the portage route and the fur trade sites on the bay, lies within the boundaries of the Grand Portage Reservation of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.

168 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1992

About the author

Carolyn Ives Gilman has been publishing science fiction and fantasy for almost twenty years. Her first novel, Halfway Human, published by Avon/Eos in 1998, was called “one of the most compelling explorations of gender and power in recent SF” by Locus magazine. Her short fiction has appeared in magazines and anthologies such as F&SF, Bending the Landscape, The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Realms of Fantasy, The Best From Fantasy & Science Fiction, Interzone, Universe, Full Spectrum, and others. Her fiction has been translated into Italian, Russian, German, Czech and Romanian. In 1992 she was a finalist for the Nebula Award for her novella, “The Honeycrafters.”

In her professional career, Gilman is a historian specializing in 18th and early 19th-century North American history, particularly frontier and Native history. Her most recent nonfiction book, Lewis and Clark: Across the Divide, was published in 2003 by Smithsonian Books. She has been a guest lecturer at the Library of Congress, Harvard University, and Monticello, and has been interviewed on All Things Considered (NPR), Talk of the Nation (NPR), History Detectives (PBS), and the History Channel.

Carolyn Ives Gilman lives in St. Louis and works for the Missouri Historical Society as a historian and museum curator.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a recent trip backpacking the Grand Portage trail on the Minnesota-Canada border, I wanted to better understand the history of the trail. This book was recommended by the ranger at the visitor center in Grand Portage. I’m glad I bought it!

A fascinating read, the book delves into the economic and social history of the area with a focus on not European and Native American influences and interactions in the area within the broader context of world events.

Highly recommend.

[Esther McLibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit I judged this book by it's cover and boy was I wrong! An important part of Minnesota's history written in a captivating narrative style, with a detailed web of connected stories. For being written in 1992, I think it holds up fairly well for 2020. I enjoyed this and would recommend it.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the only book covering Grand Portage in detail. It is one of those places that should be better known, especially to historians of the fur trade. Grand Portage is a portage from Lake Superior inland 8 and a half miles to the Pigeon River, from there you can use the many rivers and lakes to access the interior of North America. The Native peoples had been using this route for centuries. They showed the French and then the English fur traders this route. The Northwest Fur Trading Company used this site on Lake Superior as a depot for exchanging trade goods for furs from the interior for some 20 years. Trade goods from around the world went west into the interior while furs went to Montreal and to the world beyond. It was quite an amazing business, world trade before many thought much about it.

[Sherri Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting, well written and documented but fun to read. It made me want to learn more about the major players in the fur trade of Grand Portage. Even better the second time around. Every time I read this book I find new things.