I know that the BWCA has a rich history of fur trapping and tribal settlers. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendation for books about the area that I could read on my trip out there in a couple weeks.

Thanks.

Not so much about history of the BWCA, but Boundary Waters Boy written by Jack Blackwell is a fascinating account of Alec Boostrom’s pioneer life in canoe country. Stu, who publishes the BWJ says it’s the best historical account he has seen about the area.

If you have the chance, the museum at Vermillion College in Ely has a lot of interesting artifacts from the area.

https://www.amazon.com/Voyageurs-Highway-Minnesotas-Border-Lake/dp/0873510062/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1536446014&sr=1-1&keywords=voyageurs+highway

Grace Lee Nute, The Voyageur's Highway was original published by the Minnesota Historical Society. Decent basic overview of the European exploration and the fur trade era.

I know there have been other threads on this topic...I'm too lazy to look them up and link them, but I assume they still exist somewhere.

But another classic is Portage into the Past by J. Arnold Bolz.

A Guide's Tale by Gerald R. Patterson is an interesting read, a first person history.

A good source on the history and battle for preservation.

Try to find a copy of "Portage into the Past". by J. Arnold Bolz with drawings by Francis Lee Jaques. It is a wonderful book about the boundary waters. It is like taking a portage into the past.

Spend some time on the history forum of BWCA.com. There is some very interesting information there.

Several of Sigurd Olsons books have chapters that address history. Another good source is A Wonderful Country, The Quetico-Superior Stories of Bill Magie edited by Dave Olesen.

This book by Miron Heinselman has a lot of great information on history of the region.
https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/the-boundary-waters-wilderness-ecosystem

A Wonderful Country by Dave Olesen. The Quetico-Superior stories of Bill Magie.