Alexander Baker

Born in 1827 in Scotland, Alexander Baker came to the United States at age 23. After serving in the Civil War, he paddled into the borderland in 1870 on a prospecting expedition and squatted on a tract of land that included all of the paper mill site and much of International Falls. After obtaining title to this tract, he sold it to H.W. Winchell in 1892 for $6,000, retaining a small tract for his home called "Baker's Acre." Baker died on September 4, 1899. For thousands of years, Rainy River and Rainy Lake were home to Aboriginal peoples of various woodland tribes. From prehistoric Paleo indians to the present Ojibwe, groups lived, hunted, fished, and buried their ancestors along both sides of the waterways without hindrance. From the mid 1600's until the early 1900's, the fur trade dominated the area. The Northwest Company Trading Post in Fort Frances was a secondary transshipment center responsible for local trade and for providing trade goods and collecting furs for the entire Athabasca Region. The Hudson Bay Company replaced the Northwest Company in 1821 and served the local area well into the 20th century.

Canada