International Falls Municipal Tour Preview

The relief sculpture at the Stadium was done by a female sculptor, Evelyn Raymond and completed in 1942.

Designed by Nairne W. Fisher in 1936, the E.W. Backus Junior High School was the most expensive project in Koochiching County. Total cost of construction was $391,000; today that would be approximately $9,500,000. The school remained in operation until 1991. In 2002 the building was handed over to the Citizens of Backus who made it into the community center and apartment complex we know today. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as of 2004.

Catholics in the International Falls area started to convene for mass together just before Christmas time in 1904. From July 1905 through Febraury 1906 services were held in the public school house. The church officially opened for service in February 1906; mass was held in the J.J. Stone home. On June 20, 1909 Rev. Patrick J. Killen became the first resident pastor. With the population growing there was need for a real church space; in 1913 construction began. The church as we know it today was built in 1916. The stone used in this building was obtained from the riverbed of Rainy River during the dam construction at Koochiching Falls.

In December of 1926 the parish school committee wrote to the new ordinary, Bishop Thomas A. Welch, asking for a loan and permission to build a school. The Bishop's letter of confirmation was received on December 15th. A meeting was held on December 26th and the committee decided to hire an architect, take out a $50,000 loan, and invite bids. The school was completed in 1927.

Serving the community for over 100 years Holy Trinity has seen its fair share of hardships. Forty years ago the parish had 360 members, a thriving Sunday school, a choir, and an active woman's group. Despite, the dwindling numbers (the parish now sees about 20 worshipers each Sunday) they are still as lively and welcoming as they have always been. They became a Total Ministry Church in the early 2000s.

The current building was built in the 1960s to replace the old one.

The library has been in operation for over 100 years and underwent a significant remodel in 2003. The library houses over 65,000 books of various genres and offers about 200 programs yearly. The Iltis Indian, formerly displayed at the Iltis drug store, can also now be found inside the library.

The corner stone was laid in 1909 (in which was placed a time capsule that was opened in 2009) and this building is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Be sure to go inside and note its dome, and see the paintings in the dome. You can also go inside a restored courtroom on the second floor. The new addition on the East wing was added in 1976.

The True Star building was originally the International Falls High School. It was completed in 1923 for about a quarter of a million dollars. The building was designed by Tyrie and Chapman; architects from Minneapolis, MN. There was even a swimming pool in the basement. After a new high school was built it was the junior high for ninth grade students. True Star Credit Union now occupies the building.

Constructed in 1906; City Hall, City Council, and other community groups have been working towards building the city up as well as protecting the area's wildlife since its inception. In January of 2014 International Falls adopted a Comprehensive Wetland Protection and Management Plan. The plan helps balance the need for economic growth and preservation of wildlife. Voyage Forward began in 2013 and is a public program partnering with the county to further prosperity to the city and county.

The post office was built as a Works Projects Administration project in 1937. There is also a beautiful mural of International Falls inside the post office.

Located in Smokey Bear Park, the Irving Peterson Bandshell was built in August of 1940. Named after a local musican, the bandshell had been used to hold concerts in the summer, until its destruction on April of 2024.

Before the Northern Minnesota Hospital was founded in 1910 , the people of International Falls relied on two doctors in the Falls area, M.E. Withrow who came in 1905 and G.F. Swinnerton who came in 1907. E.W. Bakus helped start the Northern Minnesota Hospital Association when he contracted with three doctors, Robert H. Monahan, Elizabeth Monahan, and B.F. Osburn, in 1907. In 1909, the original three doctors were joined by Frederick and Mary Ghostley. Together, the five of them worked out of the new 25 bed hospital and tended to the people of International Falls and surrounding areas.

Baker's Acre was a one and a half-acre tract of land reserved by the Baker family when the rest of their property was sold for the city's development. Alexander Baker, who arrived in 1870, was the area's first white settler. Alexander Baker and his infant nephew were burried near the cabin that use to stand on the one-acre lot. Their bodies were exhumed and relocated to Forest Hill Cemetery after Boise Cascade bought Baker's Acre.

This is where boat traffic to Rainy Lake and Ranier came and went. The 5 cent ferry to Fort Frances also left from here (in winter a dog sled performed the service). People used to come and swim off the dock. There were also tennis courts next to the dock.

Many notable people from International Falls are buried at Forest Hill. Alexander Baker and Bronko Nagurski are both buried here.

http://www.foresthillcemeteryifalls.com/findalovedone.php