A few years ago my wife and I were on a trip up in Basswood and made a day trip to Good Lake. We decided to go check out Ella Hall lake before heading back to camp but never got there as we ran out of time. Since then I have had this sort of itching interest in the little lake.

What I would like to know is Who was Ella Hall? I tried to look her up on Bing but found nothing.

Thanks in advance,

bkebs

edit because I was tired when I typed this and was on the laptop.

Through Google, I found a photo of her grave:

http://boundarywatersblogger.blogspot.com/2009/06/bwca-tombstone-of-ella-hall.html

Wow. Only 15 years old. Now I'm curious as to her story.

Found this:

The lake's name comes from a woman who drowned in the lake over a hundred years ago. There was a logging camp there and the owner married a fifteen year old girl. The next winter she fell through the ice. They buried her on the highest point of a small island on the lake where her gravestone is easily seen.

You can do a search on here; there have been numerous posts about the Lake and the story that goes with it.

jfred is right with his story from the ones I have also heard. Owner of logging camp married 15 year old girl, next winter she died and her grave is on top of a hill on an island.

you can still go and see the grave stone.

We always leave flowers at her headstone.

The story as related by the sister of Ella Hall, Alice Hall Gregory, was printed in the Ely Miner in 1949, and reprinted in 1958 in a historical compilation for the Minnesota Centennial. Here is a link to a post relating the story:

Alice Hall Gregory, letter to the editor

Awsome, thanks for the info guys. I do not know when i will get back up that way, but i want to ge to the lake and see her grave. There is so much interesting history in the area that I doubt a fella could learn it in a lifetime.

Botanyguy, Thanks for the history. I love the BW, and I think the history makes it even more enjoyable.

History is fascinating - and much more so when the subject is of something that I love :) Thanks for posting the info!

There are also remnants of a massive pier in the southwest corner of the lake. I assume from the logging era. There are trees and shrubs growing on the top of parts of it now.

Are you talking about the pilings left on Fall Lake? I guess I don't recall any on Ella Hall.

In any event, if you're referring to the pilings on Fall at the end of Four Mile Portage - these were the terminus of the railroad that ran from Basswood to Fall Lake. Four Mile Portage is so flat because it was a rail bed for years, used to transport the felled trees from Basswood to Fall and on to the saw mills in Winton.

Beems,

No, these were definetely on Ella Hall, near the portage to Mud. Instead of vertical pilings like on Fall, these were massive horizontal logs, at or just under the surface of the water. There is so much vegetation on the top of them that it looks like a long point of land.

JD

Interesting. I do wonder what they were for?

I heard it was a 15 year old girl who lived in the BWCA with her dad and he went to set some traps in another lake. He had been gone longer than Ella expected so she set off to look for him and she fell through the ice and the grave stone is more like a monument and she not buried there.

Very interesting story. The grave stone and the letter have a discrepancy of a year regarding when Ella Hall died. The letter states that Alice Hall and her mother left the country in 1884 after her sister's death. The grave stone states that she died in 1885. Just something I noticed.

That's an incredible story. I'll have to try to work that into my next trip. I like stuff like that

I believe that Alice was mixed up on her dates. The 1885 Minnesota state census lists Andrew, Mary, Ella and Allie Hall living in Breitung Township, St. Louis County on May 1st of that year. Ella may have died early in the winter that same year. The family was living in Jamestown, Blue Earth County at the time of the 1880 census. All the above family members were there plus Willie, brother to Ella and Alice. Ella was born in Wisconsin, Alice- Minnesota, Mary- Ohio, and Andrew- Pennsylvania. I can't make out the place of birth of Willie, but he was 21 in 1880.

And here I always thought Ella Hall was just one of Jim Hoberg's old girlfriends. He visits the lake often enough.

quote jdevries: "Beems,



No, these were definetely on Ella Hall, near the portage to Mud. Instead of vertical pilings like on Fall, these were massive horizontal logs, at or just under the surface of the water. There is so much vegetation on the top of them that it looks like a long point of land.



JD"

Any possibility it is all that's left of a sluice?

quote jfred17: "Found this:



The lake's name comes from a woman who drowned in the lake over a hundred years ago. There was a logging camp there and the owner married a fifteen year old girl. The next winter she fell through the ice. They buried her on the highest point of a small island on the lake where her gravestone is easily seen."

So it appears there are 2 stories. One where she followed her father and the other where she was married. Does anyone know the real story? If she was married I would expect her last name wouldn't be Hall anymore, but then they may have named the lake after her maiden name as well? The gravestone only has her name as Hall as well. THe letter form the sister never mentions she was married either. JUst curious is all.

T

Here is an excerpt from "A history of incredible Ely" by John W. Somrock published 1976:

Hall continued prospecting while Mrs. Hall and Alice lived at the homestead log cabin on Jasper. Ella joined the family for summers. In 1884 when Hall was returning Ella to school in Duluth, he left the girl alone on the portage between Basswood and Fall lakes near a small lake, while he returned to Basswood for several packsacks. Caught in a small snowstorm, he lost his way and hours later when he returned to where he left Ella and the canoe, the girl had disappeared. He called and searched but there was no sign of her except a few snow obliterated tracks.

Assuming that she had wandered off and got lost, he returned to Basswood to enlist the aid of Indians. The squaws baked many loaves of bread, which the Indian braves and boys took with them as they scoured the woods, placed large bits of bread on tree branches for the girl to find and eat. Hall returned to Jasper lake to break the news of Ellas disappearance to Mrs. Hall.

The search by Indians continued for a whole moon (a month of 28 days by Indian calendar) with fresh bread being placed on trees every day.

Following the unsuccessful search and due to Mrs. Halls great sorrow at the loss, the fmily packed their belongings and left Jasper lake for Duluth. On the way out, they searched the shore of the small lake where Ella had been left and they found the body which was then buried on an island. Alice (sister) had a stone marker placed on the grave in the 30s.

The writer goes on to say that the lake where she died is now often referred to as Annie Hall lake. Annie was what the Indians called Ella.

Annie Hall Lake


That explains this....thought I found a mistake.

jdevries, we saw those old logs too & wondered what they were. I think my wife snagged one of them trying to throw up close.

botany, thanks for the link. Ella Hall is one of my favorite lakes in the BWCA. Just beautiful.

Wow, so cool. I had never heard this story. Pretty interesting. I see it was an old thread brought forward again, and I noticed that Amok had posted, too! He is still here in the threads! :)

quote Hawbakers: "I noticed that Amok had posted, too! He is still here in the threads! :)"

I noticed too and had to catch my breath.

Cool thread, and still miss you Amok!