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Have you ever wondered how Sheridan Street got its name? Or where Main Street is? Do you know where Allaire Street is?
In the main part of town, the streets were named for Ely pioneers but over time, mining locations, enclaves, and side roads were incorporated into the city limits. Those street names were sometime rather random, ones that were suggested by the residents who lived in the area.
To begin with, Main Street, north of Madison Street, was once part of the road to Winton. The information of just when the road was changed was not found at the Ely-Winton Historical Society. Now, of course, we think of Sheridan Street as “main street.” While Washington and Madison do have street markers, there is none for Main Street. Look for Pillow Rock as a marker.
James Sheridan and Asa Camp were among the original investors in the Chandler Mine, along with the Pattison Brothers and R. B.
Whiteside. Pattison, Sheridan and Camp had streets names after them in the original plat of Ely. Whiteside did not - White Street was named after one of the town’s original surveyors, Fred White. The city limits originally stopped at Conan Street on the south, Camp Street on the north, Central Avenue on the west, and what is now Third Avenue on the east. Over time, many additions to the city boundaries have been made.
Dr. Pattison, a principal owner in the Pioneer mine, was originally a medical doctor in Milwaukee. When he got interested in mining, he moved to Ely, but he did not practice medicine here. He later built an imposing home in Superior, WI, and had a summer home on Pattison Island on Burntside Lake. The Whitesides lived in Duluth but donated the land here that became Whiteside Park.
Captain Harvey was involved with mines on the Vermilion Range including Ely, and was honored with one of Ely’s street names. Chapman Street remains a mystery. Once source says Mr. Chapman was from Duluth but another says “chapman” is British slang for businesses.
Street names in the Ely area now include Lookout Ridge Road, Ahola Road, Wilson Street, Allaire Street and Boundary Street on the south side of town. In the main part of Ely are found James, Pattison, White, Conan, Harvey, Sheridan and Camp streets. Washington, Madison and Main Streets are north of that.
Off Pioneer Road are West Shagawa Road, Railroad Street, Lakeview Avenue and Newgord Drive. In Chandler Location are Klondike, Yukon, West Chandler Street and West Vermilion Road. Moving past Miners Drive and down Pioneer Road are Sibley Road, Savoy Road and Spalding Drive. Names here reflect geographic locations rather than historical figures from the town’s past.
It is entirely possible that I have missed a few but here are more than 30. Please call the Historical Society if you have any additions or corrections. Hours are noon to four, Tuesdays through Fridays, (218) 365-3226.
