Pride of the Inland Seas tells the tale of Duluth-Superior's development during three centuries of political, economic, technological, and social changes. Along the way, it paints a vivid canvas of the port's history against a backdrop of key industries that helped build a young United States: forest products, iron and steel, grain, and coal. It also captures intriguing stories of entrepreneurs who built, loaded, and sailed the ships that have made the Twin Ports synonymous with Great Lakes maritime commerce. C. Patrick Labadie directed Duluth's Canal Park Marine Museum (now Lake Superior Maritime Visitors Center) from its founding in 1973 until 2001.