Smithville

Local lore in Smithville, Duluth, Minnesota

Part of the Smithville neighborhood guide. Back to the full guide.

A 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 in Duluth, inside Smithville's boundaries.
Most of the neighborhood is hillside. The official boundary reaches up to the ridge, so a large share of its area is wooded slope rather than buildable ground.
Nobody has an apartment, statistically. The tract reports zero housing units in structures of five or more, one of only two such readings in this guide.
Cloquet is a real alternative. At about eighteen minutes southwest it is a comparable drive to West Duluth, and plenty of households here shop in Carlton County instead.
It is the quietest place in this guide. Smithville's 4.8 quiet rating is the highest we record, and the reason is simple: nothing passes through.

Nearby

Local lore next door

North along the river, sharing the same Census tract and the same owner-heavy river-corridor profile, with direct Spirit Lake frontage.

East along the river, the 1913 US Steel company town built almost entirely of concrete block.

Immediately south, the nearest everyday services and the closest published price anchor in the far west.

Northeast, where the Munger and Western Waterfront trails begin and Indian Point gives boat access.

Southwest along the river, the oldest community in Duluth and quieter still.

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