International Falls Bridge, Minnesota

The Rainy River is the international border here, and it flows between the adjacent towns of International Falls, Minnesota, and Fort Frances, Ontario. The bridge was built by the Minnesota and Ontario Paper Company, and is still privately owned, jointly, by the two paper companies on either side. The short steel span can carry railcars, vehicles, and people, and also carries pipelines connecting the plants. At either end is a Port of Entry, to check in with customs and immigration. The mid-point of the bridge is the international boundary, and though it is not marked on the bridge, there is a small reference monument on a rock, pointing towards the middle of the dam, where a small marker is cemented to the roof of the enclosed walkway over the dam. The dam was built by the visionary lumberman and developer of the region, E. W. Backus, starting in 1905, to produce electricity for industries he established soon afterwards, including the paper plants, and the bridge connecting them. The dam flooded the falls which gave the town its name. International Falls is famous as one of the coldest places in the continental United States, with daily high temperatures below freezing for an average of 109 days a year.

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CLUI photo
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CLUI photo
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CLUI photo