Town of Forest Center

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Forest Center was a small town of about 250 inhabitants which became established along the south shore of Isabella Lake. The town consisted of the sawmill, 53 homes, a restaurant, a recreation center and a two room schoolhouse (Beymer, 2006). There was also a general store, a coffee shop, two churches and a post office. Living quarters and a large mess hall for the lumberjacks was also present.

On December 19, 1945, the U.S. Forest Service south an area of timber to the Tomahawk Timber Company which was based out of Wisconsin. This block of timber emcompassed 130 square miles to the north of Lake Isabella. Beginning in 1948, a railroad spur reached the south shore of Lake Isabella (Heinselman, 1999). This railroad was part of the Duluth, Mesabi and Iron Range Railroad. The railroad hub was in Isabella, Minnesota (Pauly, 2005). Over the next decade or so, a network of roads would expand northward into what is now the BWCA from its origins at Forest Center. These roads would reach the south shorelines of Lake Insula, Hudson Lake, Malberg Lake and Fishdance Lake.

Almost nothing remains of this town today which was abandoned in 1964. Only a sign on the east end of the parking lot for BWCA Entry Point 35 - Isabella Lake and for BWCA Entry Point 86 - Powwow Trail gives any indication that Forest Center once existed here. The foundations of a few buildings may still exist in the surrounding woods. The 2011 Pagami Creek Fire would have further removed any evidence of this town.

Forest Center, Minnesota around 1960.

Sign marking the former location of Forest Center on the east end of the parking lot. The start of the portage to Isabella Lake is visible to the left.

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