Biohazard Cleanup Near Downtown Gilbert Gilbert, MN

Gilbert is a Mesabi Iron Range city in St. Louis County and one of the Quad Cities, along with Virginia, Eveleth and Mountain Iron.

Gilbert was platted in 1907 and named for Giles Gilbert, who led the exploration of the McKinley mine property in the 1890s; its post office has operated since 1907 and the city was first incorporated in 1908.

The community actually began as Sparta in 1896, but the townsite had to be moved because of mining, and it re-emerged under the Gilbert name.

Gilbert's population peaked at 3,510 in 1920 during the iron boom; the 2020 census counted just 1,687 residents, and the 2010 census recorded 835 households.

Gilbert is home to the Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle State Recreation Area, one of Minnesota's best-known OHV parks, with about 1,200 acres and 36 miles of trails built on old mining land.

Lake Ore-be-gone, a mine pit lake of more than 140 acres just outside town, formed from the natural flooding of three iron ore mines — the Gilbert, the Schley and the Pettit — and is now used for fishing.

Gilbert was once known as the red-light district of the Iron Range, and a planned Whorehouse Days festival in July 2005 was canceled after the city council objected.

Finnish ancestry is the largest heritage in Gilbert, claimed by 23.5% of residents, followed by German and Slovene roots typical of Iron Range mining towns.

Gilbert is the birthplace of Bernie Kukar, who worked as a National Football League referee from 1984 to 2005, and the Iron Range Historical Society is headquartered on Broadway Street in the city.