The settlement was founded by Herman Keranen (born November 5, 1862, in Puolanka, Oulun Laani, Finland), who had been working in the lumber camps when he bought several  plots and constructed a crude log cabin. With the money he earned from lumbering, he established the largest and most productive farm in the area, which led to the community being named for him. For a number of years, the primary access to the area was via the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad Company.
The settlement was founded by Herman Keranen, who had been working in lumber camps when he purchased several plots and constructed a rudimentary log cabin. With money earned from logging, he established the largest and most productive farm in the area, which led to the community being named after him. For many years, the primary means of access to the region was via the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railroad Company.