Where Pines Whisper and Ice Lasts

Next stop: Hoist Bay

Tucked along the southern shore of Namakan Lake, Hoist Bay offers a fascinating glimpse into two distinct eras: the logging heyday of Camp 75 and the later Monson family summer resort.

In the early 1900s, Hoist Bay was home to Logging Camp 75, part of the Virginia & Rainy Lake Lumber Company. A steam‑powered hoist lifted logs out of the water and onto rail cars via a trestle—more than 13.5 million board feet of white and red pine passed through over 16 years, until operations ceased in 1929.

In 1939 Ted and Fern Monson breathed new life into the property, transforming it into a summer resort. Between 1939 and 1945 they built four guest cabins (later expanding to 14 structures—including an ice house, root cellar, mess hall, and more), many with electricity and indoor baths added in the 1950s. The resort operated nearly every summer until 1973, with only a brief pause during World War II.

🌲 What We Saw
• Several cabins
• Boathouse
• Monsons’ 1940s ice house—built from salvaged logs and insulated with cedar shavings and sawdust. Blocks of ice harvested in winter reportedly lasted two summers.
• Mess hall (assumed): A larger footprint structure seemed to serve as the resort’s central gathering space.
• Railroad pilings: The lake still reveals the piers of the old railroad trestle and remnants of the hoist machinery—a powerful echo of the logging era.

It’s easy to imagine docked boats, children running between cabins, meals served in the mess hall, and evenings around that icehouse keeping fresh cold drinks in hand. Now, Hoist Bay is maintained as a day‑use historic destination with picnic tables, a dock, and a vault toilet—but it still feels like stepping into the pages of history.Read more