The Suomi Hills area takes its name from the small Finnish community of Suomi, located north of Grave Lake, using the Finnish name for the homeland, Finland. Virgin pine was harvested there from 1905 to 1910, with timber hauled over ice roads across Suomi's many lakes, then drawn by a steam-powered cable to the top of the hill overlooking Balloon Lake, where horses carried the logs to Grave Lake for loading onto railroad cars. Beginning in 1916, settlers from the Virginia and Hibbing area of Minnesota purchased property in the Suomi area at $12.00 per acre. Fires in 1918 and 1921 and into the 1930s burned much of the area south of Suomi. From 1933 to 1937, the Day Lake CCC Camp operated at the site of the present-day north parking lot, and its workers built roads, a fire tower, and scenic overlooks, fought fires, and planted pine. During World War II, the camp was also used as a prisoner of war camp. Since the 1970s, Suomi Hills has been managed as a nonmotorized area by the Chippewa National Forest, with hiking and ski trails, primitive campsites, canoeing, and fishing.