Silver Bay, Minnesota, was originally built by Reserve Mining Company to house employees of its taconite production facility. When construction began in 1951, the town was known as the Beaver Bay housing project, and one of the first houses became the post office. In 1954, Reserve announced that its new town on the north shore would be called Silver Bay. The city was designed for up to 10,000 people, reached its peak in the early 1960s at about 3,900, and now has about 1,950 residents. William Kelley High School, named for Reserve's first president, opened in 1958 and ended the long 28-mile bus ride from Two Harbors. William Kelley is now the only active school in Silver Bay and educates students from kindergarten through high school, continuing a long-standing tradition of excellence in academic and extracurricular programs. At the entrance to the city, the Rocky Taconite statue welcomes visitors and is dedicated to the researchers who revitalized the iron mining industry by developing the process that turns taconite from useless rock into a valuable product used to make vehicles, heavy machinery, and household appliances.