Split Rock Lighthouse and Grand Mound earn National Historic Landmark status

Two historic properties administered by the Minnesota Historical Society have earned the coveted designation of National Historic Landmark.

Grand Mound near International Falls and Split Rock Lighthouse along the North Shore of Lake Superior are among 14 new designations announced by the Secretary of the Interior in June.

Vastly different in age, the two sites show the development of the state from ancient to modern times -- Grand Mound dates back to 200 BC and Split Rock Lighthouse to 1910.

National Historic Landmarks are chosen because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. The National Park Service administrates  the program on behalf of the Department of the Interior.

Split Rock Lighthouse is only the 12th lighthouse to be designated a National Historic Landmark and only the second one on the shores of the Great Lakes.

The lighthouse was completed in 1910 following a deadly storm in 1905 that damaged or destroyed nearly thirty ships. The light station served as a navigational aid until it was decommissioned in 1969. It is now operated as a historic site by the Minnesota Historical Society and is open to the public daily in late spring through fall.

Grand Mound Historic Site near International Falls is the heart of an interconnected archeological landscape of burial mounds, seasonal villages and sturgeon fishing sites going back to 200 BC.

The five earthworks at the site are part of a chain of more than 20 ancient mounds located along the Rainy River from Lake of the Woods, Ontario, Canada to International Falls, Minnesota. Grand Mound is not open to the public but is preserved and maintained by the Minnesota Historical Society.