The Ojibwe Indians were the first in the area. They trapped and hunted on the land and fur tradetraded furs at the Mille Lacs and Pokegama trading posts. When european settlers came to Hinckley area it was a heavily forested area with thick stands of white pine, some of the largest in the state. The first railroad arrived in Hinckley in 1869 and so began a logging and railroad expansion. The town was known as “Central Station” by the railroads because of its position halfway between the Twin Port of Duluth, MinnesotaDuluth and Superior, WisconsinSuperior as well as the Twin Cities of Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis and St. Paul. It was renamed in 1870 after Isaac Hinckley, president of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad. The town was officially incorporated in 1885. By 1894, Hinckley was a prosperous community with an estimated population nearing 2,000. It had everything needed to serve residents and the fast expanding lumber industry. On Sept. 1, 1894, everything changed with a Great Hinckley Firefirestorm wiping out Hinckley and many northeastern Minnesota towns. Today the Hinckley Fire Museum tells the devastating story of what came to be called the Great Hinckley Fire and the town’s recovery from it. The museum is located in a restored railroad depot downtown, an exact replica of the pre-fire depot, built just after the fire. The legacy of the fire is seen today throughout the world. It began the modern day conservation movement as an object lesson in how reckless management of our natural resources can bring dire circumstances. After the fire, the burned stumps of the forests were cleared to take advantage of the now nutrient-rich soil. Hinckley’s recovery would hinge on agriculture. Some of the main crops were potatoes, fruits and vegetables. The early harvests were bountiful, and Pine County outshone other counties at the Minnesota State Fair each year. Abundant clover helped feed milk cows for a brisk dairy industry. Following the national trend in farming, Hinckley has lost most of its agricultural underpinnings. Today, Hinckley is becoming a mecca in the state tourism industry. Millions of people end up turning off Interstate 35 at this “halfway stop” to refresh and refuel at the interchange with Fire Monument Road. What they find are a thriving Grand Casino Hinckley, superb recreational opportunities on the Willard Munger State Trail and St. Croix State Park and a downtown area with traditional and niche shops. The population of more than 1,300 — with thousands more in outlying areas — continues to grow with new job opportunities and services coming in each year. In Hinckley, you will find small-town charm and successful businesses serving a community hungry to improve the quality of life of its residents. Like the pioneers after the historic fire, community spirit continues to rise like the phoenix. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinckley%2C_Minnesota