Adjacent to Lyle’s Logging Camp is the Cass Lake Museum, formerly a railroad depot and one of the few remaining original Soo Line buildings in Minnesota.

The museum’s six buildings were built virtually single-handed by a retired forester, Lyle Chisholm, who began working summers in logging camps at the age of 11. Lyle himself raised funds, constructed the buildings, and collected the original artifacts for this unique and original display of history.

Experience some of Cass Lake’s past in this historically accurate museum of logging artifacts. Replicas of equipment once used by loggers are on display and each building is furnished just as it was in the early days.

The history of the Cass Lake area is displayed throughout this 2400 sq. ft. facility and includes many Native American and 1800’s artifacts.

Logging camps varied in size from accomodating just a few men to up to 200 or more men. For a number of years following the founding of Cass Lake, there were many men in camps of this type during the winter months in the surrounding area.

Logging camps were noted for serving abundant, and tasty and nutritious meals. Other than a symphony by a crew of men eating off tin plates and drinking from tin cups and the rumbling of water boiling in the barrel attached to the range, it was surprisingly quiet at mealtine in the logging camp cookhouse.

The Blacksmith was a very important man in a logging camp. Keeping tools and equipment in repair often required him to be busy in the shop after hours and it was not uncommon to find him working on Sundays, especially when major breakdowns occurred.