Smithville
River-corridor housing below, Bardon Peak above, and a radical labor college in its past.
Smithville is a small far west Duluth neighborhood on the Grand Avenue corridor with Stewart Creek through it and Bardon Peak on the ridge above, inside its own official boundary. It is the quietest neighborhood in this guide, one of the cheapest, and the most strongly owner-occupied. It also has a genuinely notable history that almost nothing marks: a radical labor college operated here from 1907 to 1941.
Everything about Smithville
Each part of the Smithville guide has its own page. Start anywhere.
Smithville is the kind of neighborhood you only find deliberately, and its two best features are a view and a piece of history.
HistorySmithville's history has two threads: a small river-corridor settlement, and an institution that was much more important than the settlement around it.
CharacterSmithville is the quietest neighborhood in this guide, and the rating is not close. There is no through traffic beyond Grand Avenue, no commercial destination, no rail yard, no freeway and no port.
Who lives hereSmithville is a small, quiet, strongly owner-occupied neighborhood. The tract it shares with Riverside reports 84.8% owner-occupancy, 15.2% renters, a $1,075 median rent, 91.1% single-family housing and no units in structures of five or more (ACS 5-year 2023 estimates, accessed 2026-08-13).
HousingSmithville's stock is small far-west housing, built roughly 1900 to 1975 and priced near the bottom of the city's range.
SchoolsSmithville is in Duluth Public Schools (ISD 709) on the west-side pathway: Stowe Elementary, then Lincoln Park Middle School, then Denfeld High School.
Parks & recreationSmithville has no park of its own and one of the strongest outdoor settings in the city, which is the central tension of the place.
Restaurants & diningSmithville has no restaurants, cafes or bars of its own, and the nearest options are a deliberate drive in one of two directions.
CommunitySmithville is a car neighborhood at a real distance, with unusually good bicycle access to open country.
Safety & feelSmithville reads as an extremely quiet, low-density residential neighborhood with essentially no through traffic and a strongly owner-occupied character. Street lighting is limited and there are no sidewalks to speak of.
Daily lifeErrands from Smithville mean driving, and the distances are the real cost of the address.
Local loreA labor college ran here for thirty-four years. Work People's College operated in Smithville from 1907 to 1941, politically close to the Industrial Workers of the World, and the main building later became apartments. Bardon Peak is officially in the neighborhood. The city's map places the Skyline Parkway overlook, one of the best river-valley views ...
Is it right for you?You will love Smithville if you want quiet, a ridge and a price, and you have genuinely made peace with the drive. It is the quietest neighborhood in this guide, one of the cheapest, and the most strongly owner-occupied, with Bardon Peak and the Superior Hiking Trail directly above, Spirit Mountain six minutes north, and ...
How Smithville scores
Is Smithville right for you?
You'll love it if
- Bardon Peak and the Superior Hiking Trail are on the ridge directly above, with one of the best river-valley overlooks in the city inside the neighborhood's official boundary.
- Genuinely quiet at 4.8, with a nature-access rating of 4.8 to match and among the lowest prices in Duluth.
- The most owner-dominated housing profile in the guide: 84.8% owner-occupied, 91.1% single-family, and no large apartment stock at all.
- Real historical significance: Work People's College, a nationally notable radical labor college, operated here from 1907 to 1941.
- Jay Cooke State Park is about thirteen minutes southwest and reachable on the Munger Trail, and Cloquet is a genuine second shopping town.
Look elsewhere if
- Twenty-two minutes to downtown, twenty-four to the airport, and no full grocery closer than about fourteen minutes.
- No published median at all, and one of the thinnest markets in the guide.
- No school, no confirmed congregation and no commerce inside the neighborhood, with a long school ride at every grade.
- Stewart Creek and hillside parcels carry drainage, flood and slope questions that the Grand Avenue flat does not.
- Winter ease of 2.9: a long rural-feeling arterial run with hillside parcels above it and longer emergency response times.
If you like Smithville, also look at
North along the river, sharing the same Census tract and the same owner-heavy river-corridor profile, with direct Spirit Lake frontage.
Morgan ParkEast along the river, the 1913 US Steel company town built almost entirely of concrete block.
Gary-New DuluthImmediately south, the nearest everyday services and the closest published price anchor in the far west.
Norton ParkNortheast, where the Munger and Western Waterfront trails begin and Indian Point gives boat access.
Fond du LacSouthwest along the river, the oldest community in Duluth and quieter still.
CloquetSouthwest in Carlton County, roughly the same drive as West Duluth and the practical shopping town for many households here.
Common questions about Smithville
What was Work People's College?
A radical labor college that operated in Smithville from 1907 until 1941, politically close to the Industrial Workers of the World for most of its existence. It ran as a residential school in a building that had begun as a seminary, and the main building was later converted into apartments. It is one of the more historically significant sites in far west Duluth and is barely marked.
Where is Bardon Peak?
On West Skyline Parkway on the ridge above the neighborhood. The city's official map places it inside Smithville's boundaries. It gives one of the best views of the St. Louis River valley in Duluth, and the Superior Hiking Trail runs past it.
How much do homes cost in Smithville?
There is no separate published median, because Redfin does not report Smithville as its own geography and very few properties change hands in a year. The Far West Duluth band runs roughly $140,000 to $260,000, with the Gary-New Duluth area at about $207,000 immediately south (accessed 2026-08-13). Price from close comparables.
What schools serve Smithville?
Duluth Public Schools (ISD 709) on the west-side pathway: Stowe Elementary at 715 101st Avenue West, then Lincoln Park Middle School, then Denfeld High School. Every grade involves a long ride from this end of the city. Boundaries change, so confirm your specific address with the district.
How far is Smithville from a grocery store?
About fourteen minutes northeast to the Spirit Valley strip, or about eighteen minutes southwest to Cloquet, which many households here use instead. Gas and convenience are closer, in Gary-New Duluth immediately south. There is nothing inside the neighborhood.
Where these facts come from
- Wikipedia, Smithville (Duluth), for boundaries, Stewart Creek, Bardon Peak and the Work People's College history accessed 2026-08-13
- Census ACS 5-year 2023 estimates, Census Tract 36, St. Louis County, Minnesota accessed 2026-08-13
- Redfin, Duluth MN neighborhood housing market data (for the Far West band and the Gary-New Duluth anchor) accessed 2026-08-13
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-2025, ISD 709 school enrollments accessed 2026-08-13
- City of Duluth, Skyline Parkway accessed 2026-08-13
- Minnesota DNR, Jay Cooke State Park accessed 2026-08-13
- NWS Duluth, seasonal snowfall records and normals accessed 2026-08-13
- Duluth Police Department 2025 Annual Report accessed 2026-08-13
Last reviewed 2026-08-13 by Guide editorial.