USA > Michigan > A history of the northern peninsula of Michigan and its people, its mining, lumber and agricultural industries, Volume I > Part 56
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Rockland township was one of the first to be organized in Ontonagon county, the organizing meeting having been held July 4, 1853, at the home of Daniel Cavina. The population of the township was 2,858 in 1860; 1,479 in 1870 and 877 in 1880. The deerease in population was caused by the decline in mining operations.
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500 THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
Greenland township, in the southeastern part of the county, was first organized February 3, 1853, at the office of the Forest Mining Company.
About 1850 Carp Lake township, in the western part of the county, was formed mainly out of the original Pewabic township.
The original Pewabic township covered Carp Lake and retained its organization until 1865, when it was disorganized and part of its terri- tory absorbed by Rockland.
About the time Carp township was permanently organized in 1853, the township of Algonquin was formed and continued until 1874, when its territory was absorbed by Greenland.
The population of the county from 1890 to 1910, inclusive, accord- ing to the figures of the United States census bureau has been as follows:
ONTONAGON COUNTY
1910
1900
1890
Bohemia township
207
268
92
Carp Lake township
139
69
18
Greenland township
1,836
1,390
272
Haight township
210
289
Interior township
479
274
559
MeMillan township
458
868
597
Matchwood township
554
156
Ontonagon township including Ontonagon
village
2.437
1,618
1,564
Rockland township
1,842
1,265
654
Stannard township
498
Totals
8,660
6,197
3,756
ONTONAGON COUNTY MINES
There are five copper mines in Ontonagon county-three good pro- ducers and three in the stages of development or uncertainty. The Mich- igan. Mass and Victoria mines are the active producers and are consid- ered among the best copper properties in the Upper Peninsula.
The Michigan Copper Mining Company was organized January 5, 1899, with a capital of $2,500.000. Its location comprises 6,686 acres and includes 4,870 acres of mineral territory, 1.466 of timber and mis- cellaneous lands, and a 150-acre mill site. The main tract is three miles east and west, by four and a half north and south, active operations be- ing conducted at Rockland, northeast of the center of the county. In- eluded in the Michigan location are these three old mines, the Minnesota. Rockland and Superior.
It was in the Minnesota tract that the prehistorie pits were discov- ered, noted in the general chapter on copper mining, and which led to the opening of the modern mine in 1847. In one of the pits was a "6-ton mass of copper raised on skids, on top of which grew a hemlock tree having nearly 400 rings of anummal growth. Immense masses of virgin
gle
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THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
copper were taken from the Minnesota, the largest (found in 1856), measuring 12 feet 6 inches by 18 feet 6 inches by 46 inches, weighing 527 short tons and requiring the work of 20 men for 15 months in eut- ting it into pieces small enough for hoisting (See Copper Manitou). From 1847 to its closing in 1870 the Minnesota produced 34,704,668 pounds of fine copper and paid $1,820,000 dividends. The Rockland, ly- ing east of Minnesota, was operated in 1853-70, with an output of 6,210.309 pounds, and the Superior, abont a mile east of the present workings, made 567.331 pounds during the periods of its activity, 1856- 69 and 1876-9.
The present Michigan mine is a combination of two new mines and a reopened old location, its shafts being sunk on a bed which outerops a few feet north of the North Minnesota fissure. A few miles to the north- east are the Mass and Adventure mines. The Michigan mine has ten miles of underground workings; employs about 450 men; is opened by three shafts and produces from 1,900,000 to 2,900,000 pounds of copper annually. Its new stamp mill is about a mile north of the Mass plant at Keweenaw Bay, water being secured through a 1.200-foot tunnel. A distinctive feature of the copper which is produced by the Michigan mine is its high electrical conductivity, in which quality it surpasses all other Lake Superior varieties.
The mining town of Rockland has a population of about 1,500; is a station on the Chicago. Milwaukee & St. Paul road. twelve miles south- east of Ontonagon; has an opera house, weekly newspaper ( Reporter) and a bank ; three churches-Catholic, Methodist and Episcopalian, and is quite a place. It was first settled in 1859.
Mass Consolidated Mining Company was also organized in 1899 and capitalized at $2,500.000. Its location of 2.400 acres embraces the old Ridge, Mass and Ogima mines, and the old prosperts known as the Mer- rimae and Hazard, the joint production of which, under previous man- agements, was 11,131,023 pounds of fine eopper. The Ridge mine, op- crated from 1850-74, made 5,134.449 pounds of copper and paid $100,- 000 in dividends; the Mass mine, opened in 1856 and worked intermit- tently until 1886, had a total output of 5,014,266 pounds, and the Ogima, from 1860 to 1868, produced 982.308 pounds. The Mass has openings on all of its copper-bearing beds. As a whole it is rich in mass copper and carries considerable silver. In addition to the usual mine buildings, there are about sixty good dwellings on the location; also a town site, Mass City, which is the terminus of the Mineral Range Railroad and a station on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul line. It has a bank, ship- ping facilities and several churches. The Mass stamp mill is at Kewee- naw Bay, on the west shore of that body of water in Baraga county, at the junction of the Mineral Range and Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic railways, thirty-four miles northeast of the mine. Here are also wharves, a warehouse, shops and quite a collection of dwellings. In 1909 the Mass mine produced 1,723.436 pounds of refined copper.
The Victoria Copper Mining Company was organized in 1899, with
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THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
a capital of $2,500,000, and its location of 2,395 acres is just west of the Ontonagon river, four miles from Rockland, which is its banking and shipping point, and sixteen miles south of the county seat. Its tract is nearly three miles in length, north and south, and two miles at its wid- est part. The first attempt at Lake Superior copper mining in historie times was made on what is now Victoria property in the winter of 1770. 71 (see general history of copper mining). In 1849 the property was opened, under the name of Cushin, on a line of prehistoric pits contain- ing masses of native copper, one weighing upwards of a ton. In the fol- lowing year the name was changed to Forest, and reorganized, in 1858, as Victoria Mining Company. Under these names the mine produced about 1,279 pounds of fine copper at a loss of $180,000. The first stamp mill was burned by a forest fire and the second was swept away by a flood. In 1849-55 the property was operated on a small scale, and there- after spasmodically. The mine was unwatered in 1881, but remained idle until work was begun by the present company March 1, 1899. The present productive openings are on what is known as the Forest lode. Besides small shops, a boarding house, general store, school house, and about sixty dwellings the company owns a sawmill and a $200,000 water- power developed from Glenn falls, on the west branch of the Ontonagon river about a mile from the mine. This has been pronounced the best natural water power of the copper region, the stream dropping one hun- dred fifty feet over a series of small falls within one and a half miles. Power is developed by means of a dam which is 320 feet between abut- ments; a canal nearly 6,000 feet long and three vertical inlet shafts through which the air supply of the mine in the shape of air bubbles is forced into it by the pressure of the falling water from above. At the bottom of the shafts is a long tunnel, through which the air bubbles are drawn into the air compressor. The hydraulic-pneumatic power plant was completed in May, 1906, and is said to be the most powerful single- unit air compressor in existence. The mine and stamp mill-the latter near the hydraulic works-are connected by a tramway of 4,800 feet, and, although the buildings are not of the largest, they are modernly equipped. Its great advantage over many large mines is its cheap power. The mine's product of refined copper. in 1909, was 1,062.218 pounds.
The Adventure mine location is at Greenland, in the township by that name and comprises nearly 1,700 aeres, including the old Adven- ture and Hilton tracts in one body to the eastward and the Knowlton traet. one mile southwest. The Adventure mine was first opened in 1850- along a line of ancient pits, its largest annual production (in 1857) be- ing 1,941 pounds. In 1863 the Hilton, or Ohio mine, was opened but never actively worked. The Knowlton commenced operations in 1853. Altogether the three old mines produced only 1,173 pounds of refined copper previous to their merging as the Adventure Consolidated Novem- ber 1, 1898. The property is served by a spur of the Copper Range Railroad; the stamp mill at Edgemere, Lake Superior, went into com- mission September 22, 1902. As a whole the operations of the Adven- ture have been disappointing, and its future is uncertain.
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THE NORTHERN PENINSULA OF MICHIGAN
Prospects for the Lake mine. at Belt, are quite encouraging. The 720 acres of land owned by the Lake Copper Company, which was or- ganized in 1905, are located in direct line of the principal copper-bear- ing lodes of the Ontonagon district and its bed is thought to be a con- tinuation of the great Baltic lodes, twenty miles to the northeast. This property includes a part of the old Belt mine opened in 1848, which was taken over, in 1882, by the Belt Mines Company, limited, which sunk much money to little purpose. The first work by the present company was done on the Knowlton and Butler beds, but developments were not encouraging until late in 1906 when the new bed was opened, which is hoped to be a continuance of the rich Baltie lode, with all that name im- plies.
Developmental work is also progressing on the location of the North Lake mine, at Greenland. The company which runs a 1,120-acre tract at this point was organized in 1908, and its property is traversed by both the Mineral Range and Copper Range railways and is crossed by the Fire Steel river.
Altogether, the mines of Ontonagon county employ between eight and nine hundred men.
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CHAPTER XXIII THE NEWER IRON COUNTIES
GOGEBIC IRON RANGE-ASHLAND, NORRIE AND AURORA MINES -- NEWPORT MINE-BESSEMER-GOGEBIC COUNTY CREATED SHIPMENTS FROM THE GOGEBIC RANGE-THOMAS F. COLE-IRONWOOD CITY-INCREASE IN POPULATION-IRON COUNTY-IRON RIVER DISTRICT-CITY OF IRON RIVER-MINES AT STAMBAUGH AND IRON RIVER-STAMBAUGH VIL- LAGE- CRYSTAL FALLS-OTHER TOWNS-AGRICULTURE AND GOOD ROADS-COUNTY STATISTICS-DICKINSON COUNTY-OLD QUINNESEC -FIRST SHIPMENTS OF ORE-FOUNDING OF IRON MOUNTAIN-PIONEER ITEMS-CHAPIN AND PEWABIC MINES-NORWAY AND THE ARAGON MINE OTHER TOWNS-AGRICULTURE-GOOD ROADS -- POPULATION.
The counties of Gogebie, Iron and Dickinson, in the southwestern portion of the Upper Peninsula, have, as their physical and industrial backbone, the iron ranges of Gogebie and Menominee; the former ex- tends through Gogebie county and the latter binds Iron and Dickinson. Chronologically, the order of the opening of the three ranges which have chiefly provided the raw material upon which is based the great iron in- dustry of northern Michigan, is Marquette, Menominee and Gogebic. Politically speaking, Ontonagon, Marquette and Menominee, are the mothers of the three younger iron counties-Gogebie, Iron and Diekin- son-but, although the Gogebie range was the last to be opened, of late years the amount of its output has, as a whole, nearly approached that of the Menominee and Marquette ranges. In 1908 its shipments of long tons led the other two ranges, the figures for 1909 being as follows: Me- nominee, 4,875,385; Marquette, 4,256,172; Gogebie, 4,088,057. Accord- ing to the last accessible figures, the Gogebie iron mines employed 4.584 men; those of Marquette, 6,546 and those of the Menominee range (Iron and Dickinson counties), 5,510. In what may be called the new, or lower iron country (as distinguished from that of the Marquette range), the Gogebie range has developed the metropolis of that section of the peninsula in the municipality of Ironwood City. It has also given birth to one of the deepest and most productive iron miners in the world (the Newport).
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SURFACE PLANT OF A PRESENT-DAY IRON MINE
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GOGERIC IRON RANGE
The following general description of the range, published in the an- nual proceedings of the Lake Superior Mining Institute for 1910, is in- structive and to the point :
"The iron bearing formation of the Gogebie Iron Range extends al- most unbroken from Lake Gogebie, in Michigan, on the east to Mineral Lake in Wisconsin on the west. The iron formation is found both east and west of these limits, having a total length of about eighty miles, but is not traced continuously for the entire distance. The productive portion of the formation extends from the Castile mine, located one and one half miles east of the village of Wakefield in Michigan, to the At- lantie mine in Wisconsin a distance of about twenty miles. The general trend of the formation is north of east with a dip universally to the north varying from fifty-five to seventy-five degrees. The formation va- ries in the width from three hundred feet to three miles in the widest portion.
"The formations are for the most part regular. They rest on the granite to the south and are overlaid by trap of the Keweenaw series on the north. The iron bearing series is divided into four members. The lowest, a cherty limestone, thin and not generally present except on the western end. Second, quartz-slate, slatey in the lower portions but be- coming hard and massive in the upper portions. Third, the ore-bearing member consisting of ferruginous cherts, schists and ore bodies. The fourth is composed of ferruginous slates, grey wackes and schists. The ore is deposited in general up on the quartzite foot wall the largest de- posits being in troughs formed between the quartizite foot wall and diorite dikes that cut across the ore formation at right angles to the foot wall.
"The diorite dikes which are numerous in the Ironwood district are to a great extent missing east of the Black river, in Michigan, and west of the Montreal river in Wisconsin. East of the Black river, and in the vicinity of Wakefield the formation is more broken, the mines are north of the regular foot wall and the ore is found in the extreme north limit of the iron formation."
ASHLAND, NORRIE AND AURORA MINES
The first thorough mining explorations in what is now Gogebie county were made by J. Lansear Norrie, who came to the site of Iron- wood from New York state in 1881. He sunk a shaft forty feet deep in whint is now known as the Ashland mine (Cleveland-Cliffs property), but this he soon abandoned. On the Norrie location (now Oliver Mining Company) he also sunk a shaft sixteen feet in depth and found ore in great quantities, striking a large vein at what is now known as the old Norrie mine. Shortly after this Hayes Brothers of Ashland, Wisconsin, sunk the abandoned shaft at the Ashland location a few feet deeper which afterwards became the Ashland mine. John E. Burton, of Lake Geneva,
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Wisconsin (who was famous here in the early days), discovered the Au- rora mine soon after, working it at first as an open pit and taking out 50,000 tons. The deposit, however, was soon worked out but a shaft was afterward sunk deeper and the location worked as an underground mine.
The Ashland is now the most westerly productive iron mine in Mich- igan, and was opened by the Ashland Mining Company which shipped 6,471 tons of ore in 1885. It was operated under various managements until May, 1901, when it was leased by the Hayes Mining Company to the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company. which sunk a new shaft and rebuilt the entire surface plant and equipment. The location of the mine is within the corporate limits of Ironwood. It is a substantial producer, its
NORRIE MINE, IRONWOOD
output in 1909 having been 256,674 and its total shipments 5,386,884 tons.
The Norrie, East Norrie and Aurora mines constitute a group of the Oliver Mining Company's properties, lying east of the Ashland location. They are among the best known iron producers in the state, and, as they employ over 1,200 men, form a large contribution to the population and prosperity of the city of Ironwood. The mines are ope: ated through eight shafts and produce more than a million tons of ore annually. Both the underground and surface equipments are modern in every detail ; workshops are conveniently located, supplied with the best of tools and fittings, so that every device required in a modern mine can be made on the ground. Tramming is done by electricity. The trams dump directly into skips, which are hoisted to the surface and, in turn, dumped into the ore cars and the load transferred to the stockpile. Taken as a whole, the Norrie mine is the most widely known on the Gogebie range. It was opened by the Metropolitan Land & Iron Company in May, 1885.
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Hon. S. S. Curry, who has been so prominently identified with the city of Ironwood since that time, was president of the company. Among the men sent on to open up the field was D. E. Sutherland, who, axe in hand, led the force who cut a pathway to the present site of the Norrie mine. Soon afterward a carload of machinery arrived and work was so pushed that hy the close of the season in 1885 the mine had shipped out 15,419 tons of ore. The Norrie was the first iron mine in the Upper Peninsula to ship 1,000,000 tons per year, and Mr. Sutherland has stood by the growing proposition all these years, being now its general super- intendent.
The Norrie continued under the management of the Metropolitan Land & Iron Company until 1897, when it was taken over by the Oliver Iron Mining Company.
The Aurora mine was opened in 1886 by the Penokee & Gogehie De- velopment Company and continued under their management until 1899, when it was taken over by the Oliver Iron Mining Company. It is op- ernted by three shafts.
The Pabst mine, east of the Aurora, and also owned by the Oliver Company, was discovered, abont the time the Aurora was opened, by Captain Fred Pabst, the Milwaukee brewer, while the Newport mine, formerly known as the Iron King was discovered soon after by John E. Burton, also from the Cream City.
NEWPORT MINE
Enst of the Pabst mine and abont one mile from Ironwood is the great Newport location of 320 aeres. Both producing shafts on the property are bottomed at the same elevation, about 2,300 feet, being connected by a drift in the foot-wall half a mile in length. As stated, the Newport is the deepest mine on the range and, through the persistent efforts of its former manager, J. R. Thompson, has proven the existence of rich de- posits of ore at a depth, previons to this demonstration, not deemed pos- sible .. Electricity for underground and surface hanlage, shop and other motors, miscellaneous lighting, etc., is furnished from an electric plant loented in the main power house. Over 1,000,000 lineal feet of round timber and 5,000 cords of logging are consumed inually in mine work. ยท A complete telephone system is in operation which connects the general office with all mine buildings, shafts and underground stations; this, in turn, is connected with the general city service.
The Newport mine was opened in 1886 under the name of the Iron King, and is operated by the Newport Mining Company. Its output averages between 900,000 and 1,000,000 tons, and employs 1.100. Last season (1910-11) over 1.200,000 tons were taken from the mine-all out of one shaft and at a depth of more than 1.800 feet.
The discovery of the large bodies of iron ore nt and near the site of Ironwood was the primary ennse of the extension of the railroads to this point. In October, 1884. the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Rail- way entered the southeastern corner of the county. About that time the
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Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company purchased that line, and at the close of the year trains were running into Ironwood, then a little mining town in the wilderness, with a few shacks for dwellings. A few years later the Wisconsin Central built a branch from Mellen to the Ashland mine, and some time after came the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic.
BESSEMER
In the meantime, Bessemer, further to the east, had been born; so that the county (it was still Ontonagon) had two live mining towns in its southwestern section. The first discovery of ore in the Gogebic range is claimed to have been made by Capt. N. D. Moore, at the south limits of Bessemer, in 1880; although there are those who say that the captain stole the information which led him to the location of the present Colby mine from an honest woodsman named Richard Langsford. At all events the original ore body commenced to be mined about the time of the discovery of the Ashland and Norrie mines, at Ironwood, and the present property of Corrigan, Mckinney & Company has been produc- ing, with more or less constancy ever since. Its shipments amounted to 166.000 tons in 1909, and number of employees 305.
The company named also operates the Ironton mine, west of the Colby, which is a larger producer (shipments in 1909, 277,594 tons), while the Tilden, joining the Colby on the east, is conducted by the Oliver Mining Company and has an annual output of some 150,000 tons. The Yale, which directly adjoins the Colby on the west, is the property of the Ashland Iron & Steel Company, ships about 70,000 tons of ore annually and employs 150 men.
There are also various small producers between the Colby and Cas- tile, the latter being the most easterly mine in actual operation in the county. The Mikado (output about 99,000 tons), Brotherton (103,000 tons) and Sunday Lake (93,000 tons) are all operated by Piekards, Mather & Company.
The opening of what is now the Colby mine gave Bessemer its first real start, and the second event which materially contributed to its well- being was the construction of the Chicago & Northwestern railroad through its site to Ironwood in 1884. This brought quite a number of settlers from Ontonagon, Rockland and other places.
Among the first frame buildings erected was that of the railroad boarding house on Mary street. The first store (a log building) was built in 1883, on Lead street, the pioneer merchant being M. H. Martin, who did a large business for many years. Following Mr. Martin, other merchants soon located in the place, including F. L. Nichelsen and a Mr. Jeffrey, both of whom had stores on the south side of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. The first hotel was the Dolan House built by P. H. Dolan in 1883 on the south side of the railroad, while the Colby and Puritan hotels were erected later, the latter in 1885. The first church was the Catholic, which was built in 1886, while the Presbyterian
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was built in 1888, services having previously been conducted in Robin- son hall on Seller street. The Methodist, Swedish Evangelical and Ger- man churches were built later. Following the discovery of the Bessemer, Norrie and Ashland mines several others were opened up a few years later. The discovery of the rich beds of iron ore in the vicinity proved quite an impetus to the growth of the place and in 1887 Bessemer was incorporated as a village.
GOGEBIC COUNTY CREATED
This naturally leads up to the fact of the creation of Gogebie county from the territory of Ontonagon. With the rapid influx of people, it was found impossible to get along with the county seat so distant as the
GOGEBIC COUNTY COURT HOUSE, BESSEMER
month of the Ontonagon river, which was particularly inaccessible dur- ing the winter months. The consequence was that the vote for a division on June 4. 1886, was opposed by but one citizen. A bill was accordingly drafted, which passed both houses of the legislature February 2, 1887. The new county was named by cutting off the first letter of the old In- dian word Agogebie. Both Ironwood and Bessemer were eager contes- tants for the seat of justice; but Bessemer won, and a fine court house, built of Lake Superior brown stone, at a cost of $75,000, was in due time erected. The rapid increase in population which took place sub- sequent to the choice of Bessemer as the county seat stimulated its citi- zens to apply for a city charter which was granted by the legislature in 1889.
The total area covered by the city corporation comprises about 3,000 aeres, being nearly three miles in extent from east to west, and over one
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