Dorothy Molter Museum in Ely, St. Louis County, United States | Attraction | Museum

The Dorothy Molter Museum is located just outside Ely, Minnesota and is a memorial to this colorful lady known by some as the Root Beer Lady and others as the Nightingale of the Wilderness. Dorothy Molter spent most of her life living on Knife Lake and is the legendary last non-indigenous resident of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, where many a canoeist would stop and enjoy her hospitality and famous home made root beer. After her passing, her cabins were dismantled and transported first to Moose Lake, then to Ely, where volunteers restored them to become the Dorothy Molter Museum. This wonderful lady, a nurse by profession treated many an ailing visitor and animal, and she paddled, hiked, fished, skied and snowshoed this pristine area, until her death in 1986, she was visited by as many as 7,000 people a year. Today the museum preserves and interprets Northwoods wilderness heritage through learning opportunities inspired by Dorothy Molter, and visitors can view the many exhibits, the bird feeding area, enjoy tours and programs with knowledgeable guides and groups are welcome, there's also a gift shop with souvenirs and more, serving ice cold root beer and a picnic area under the pines.