Beard's directory and history of Marquette County with sketches of the early history of Lake Superior, its mines, furnaces, etc., etc, Part 11

Author: Walker, Charles I. (Charles Irish), 1814-1895
Publication date: 1873
Publisher: Detroit : Hadger & Bryce
Number of Pages: 264


USA > Michigan > Marquette County > Beard's directory and history of Marquette County with sketches of the early history of Lake Superior, its mines, furnaces, etc., etc > Part 11


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15


That Mr. Everett was really the pioneer in the discovery and development of the Lake Superior Iron Mines, can not be suc- cessfully disputed. It is true others may have visited the Jack- son mountain about the same time, but we have no evidence that any of them discovered or knew of the existence of its hidden treasures. Certain it is, that if Mr. Pray visited the Jackson mountain at the time referred to by Prof. Jackson, he could not have been in advance of Mr. Everett, otherwise he would have taken some measures to secure the reward due to such a discov- ery.


In this connection we are permitted to copy the following extract from a letter written by Mr. Everett to Capt. G. D. Johnson, of the Superior mine, soon after his first visit to Lake Superior :


JACKSON, Mich., Nov. 10, 1845.


DEAR SIR :- Since I have returned from Lake Superior, Charles tells mne that he promised to let you know all about my excursion, and wishes me to perform the task for him. In compliance with his request, I will therefore try and give you a brief description of my trip. I left here on the 23d of July last, and was gone till the 24th of October. I had some idea of going to Lake Superior last winter, but did not think seriously of going until a short time before I left. I had considerable difficulty in get- ting any one to join me in the enterprise ; I at last succeeded in forming a company of thirteen. I was appointed treasurer and agent, to explore and make locations, for which last purpose we had secured seven permits from the Secretary of War. I took four men with me from Jackson, and hired a guide at the Sault, where I bought a boat, and coasted up the lake to Copper Harbor, which is over 300 miles from the Sault Ste Marie. There are no white men on Lake Superior except those who go there for mining purposes. We incurred many dangers and hardships. * * We made several locations-one of which we called Iron at the time. It is a mountain of solid iron ore, 150 feet high. The ore looks as bright as a bur of iron just broken. Since coming home we have had some of it smelted, and find that it produces iron and something resembling gold- some say it is gold and copper. Our location is one mile square, and we shall send a company of men up in the spring to begin operations. Our company is called the Jackson Mining Company. * * * * * *


* * Yours, etc.,


P. M. EVERETT.


We copy the above extract from the original letter, which also contains a copy of one of the original shares of the Com- pany.


EXTENT OF THE IRON REGION.


It must not be inferred from the statement of the number of mines actually opened and now being worked, that they consti- tute the extent of our iron deposits. The mountain to which


208


MINES AND FURNACES OF LAKE SUPERIOR.


" Man-je-ki-jik" conducted Mr. Everett, and from which all the Jackson shipments have been taken, is within the corporate lim- its of the village of Negaunee, only a dozen miles from the lake shore. Since Everett first brought it to the notice of the orig- inal incorporators of the Jackson Company, by whom it is still owned, developments have gradually extended westward, until we have had to record the newest and most promising openings at and around Lake Michigammi, about twenty miles west of Negaunee. And still the iron interest of the Upper Peninsula is in its infancy-for though the shipments embrace in the ag- gregate several million tons, scarcely a perceptible mark has been made on the vast and inexhaustible deposits which are known to exist, many of them still untouched, and far removed from the scene of active mining operations. On all sides of Lake Michigammi-north, south and west-and on the Menom- inee, southward, immense deposits have been discovered, com- pared to which the famous "Iron Mountain " of Missouri sinks into insignificance.


Nor is iron the only mineral which is known to exist in that portion of the Upper Peninsula known as the Iron Region. Copper, silver and lead have been discovered, and we believe that developments yet to be made will shortly prove that they exist in paving quantities. On the Menominee has been discov- ered an immense marble quarry, and in other localities slate suitable for roofing purposes. In many portions the soil is well adapted to agriculture, and experiment has demonstrated the fact that wheat, oats, barley, and even fruits, can be grown to per- fection. With its immense mineral resources, its boundless for- . ests of pine and hard wood, a fertile soil and healthful climate, it certainly possesses all the natural advantages requisite to the growth of a great and powerful State. But our limits will not permit us to take anything more than a superficial view of its resources, outside the iron interest.


THE FIRST OPENING


In the Iron District was made by the Jackson Company in the fall of 1846, in the summer of which year they commenced the erection of a forge on the Carp, about three miles east of Ne- gaunee. The forge was put in operation in the spring of 1847, and the first ore mined at the Jackson was there manufactured into blooms. The forge, however, only ran a day or two after being started, the dam being taken out by a freshet. It was not started again until fall, when it was worked quite successfully. It had two fires, and made four blooms, each about four feet long and eight inches thick, per day. Here was made the first iron of any importance from Lake Superior ore. The first blooms were sold to E. B. Ward, and from them was made the walking beam of the steamboat " Ocean." This forge was kept in operation till 1854, when it was entirely abandoned. Anoth-


209


MINES AND FURNACES OF LAKE SUPERIOR.


er forge was built at Marquette, just south of the shore end of the Cleveland dock, by a Worcester (Mass.) company, in 1849, under the direction and superintendence of A. R. Harlow, Esq. It was destroyed by fire the following winter, and never rebuilt. Two other forges were subsequently built at Forestville and Col- linsville.


Though all these forges, while in operation, were supplied with ore from the Jackson Mine, not much progress was made in mining until after the completion of the company's docks at Marquette, which were begun in 1854, and finished the next year. In 1853, three or four tons were shipped to the World's Fair, at New York, but regular shipments did not commence till the spring of 1856.


When the first opening was made in the iron deposit on the Jackson location, there were, perhaps, not to exceed 50 white inhabitants within the present limits of Marquette county. There was then nothing but an Indian trail from the "Mouth of the Carp" to the " Iron mountain." Upon the erection of the Jackson forge a wagon road was constructed from thence to the mine, and when, a few years afterward, it was concluded that our iron deposits would pay for working, the road was com- pleted from the lake to the mountain. Then a plank road was projected, commenced in 1853 or 1854, and completed in 1856. It was subsequently converted into a tram railway, on which mules were used as locomotives, and answered the purpose for which it was designed until, in 1857, what is now the


MARQUETTE & ONTONAGON RAILROAD


Was completed and put into operation between Marquette and . the Lake Superior Mine. This enterprise was originally com- menced in 1853, by the late Heman B. Ely and his associates, who, in 1855, became the incorporators of the Iron Mountain Railroad of Michigan, which name it retained until opened to the Lake Superior Mine, 1856, when it was consolidated with the Bay de Noquet & Marquette Railroad Company. This con- solidation was perfected in 1858.


While upon this subject we may as well give a brief sketch of our Lake Superior


RAILROADS,


Since they are so intimately connected with, and inseparable from the successful working of the mines.


In the year 1857 a negotiation was completed between the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac Railroa .. Company, through the Hon. Wm. B. Ogden, its President, and the railroad and plank road proprietors, by which that company became the own- ers of both roads (the Iron Mountain Railroad and the plank road), and of the charter of the Marquette & Wisconsin State Line Railroad, to which the grant of public lands had been


210


MINES AND FURNACES OF LAKE SUPERIOR.


made by Congress. In virtue of these transfers it was expected that a railroad line would be immediately built from Fond du Lac to a point on the Menominee River, in township 41 north, range 30 west, from whence it was to diverge in two branches-one to Marquette, and the other to Ontonagon. But the panic and financial crisis of that year prevented the negotiations of the proposed loans in Europe upon the basis of the land grants ; the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac Company retained, however, the the Marquette & State Line R. R. charter. In the course of time Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company succeeded to the property and effects of its predecessor, including the Marquette & State Line land grant. It seemed impracticable then to build a line of railroad on the route first surveyed in 1857, and accord- ingly the Chicago & Northwestern Company obtained from Con- gress the privilege of a change in the line of the Marquette & State Line road to the Green Bay shore and the present line of the Peninsula division. This line was so nearly identical witn that of the Bay de Noquet and Marquette grant, that the latter company determined not to continue the line to Bay de Noquet. The land grants, as to their interfering provisions, were adjusted by mutual consent between the Chicago & Northwestern and the Bay de Noquet Companies, and the latter company became merged in interest with the Marquette & Ontonagon Railroad.


It will thus be seen that Mr. Ogden, at a very early day, ap- preciated the importance of extending a line of railway from Chicago to the iron and copper regions of Lake Superior, and it is principally to his influence and exertions that we are indebted for the building of the


PENINSULA RAILROAD,


From Escanaba to the iron mines. Prof. Jackson, in the report referred to in the beginning of this paper, pointed out the route of the Peninsula road as the proper and most feasible outlet for the iron product, and though it is not our purpose to compare the merits of the respective routes, we apprehend that he did not then anticipate that his suggestion would so soon be acted upon.


The preliminary survey of the Peninsula Railroad line was made in 1865, it being then the intention of the company to run their road from the head of Little Bay de Noquet to Chocolay, four miles below Marquette. The next spring, however, the present line was selected, and work commenced on the 4th of July. In a little less than eighteen months the track was laid into Negaunee, and in less than two years after ground was brok- en at Escanaba, the cars were carrying ore and passengers over the line. The main line is 623 miles in length, with about ten miles of track branching off from Negaunee to the mines. The business of the road has more than answered the expectations of the company. Recently their rails have been laid to the Bar-


211


MINES AND FURNACES OF LAKE SUPERIOR.


num, Lake Angeline and New England mines, which are ex- pected in future to make nearly, if not quite, all their shipments over the Peninsula line. The Peninsula road now has connec- tions with the Jackson, New York, Cleveland, Barnum, Lake Angeline, Iron Mountain, New England, McComber, Grand Central and Houghton Mines. The M. & O. R. R. has exclusive connections with the Lake Superior, Edwards, Washington, Champion, Parsons and Winthrop mines, and divides with the Peninsula road the business of the Cleveland, Lake Angeline, Jackson, New England, McComber, Grand Central and Hough- ton.


THE FIRST OPENING


At the Jackson mine, and, indeed, the first in the district, was made in the fall of 1846 Very little progress was made, how- ever, until after the building of the company's docks at Mar- quette-which were commenced in 1854, and finished the next year-and the subsequent opening of the St. Mary's canal.


The Jackson Company's mines are situated within the corpo- rate village of Negaunee, on section 1, of town 47, range 27, the whole of the section belonging to the company, and comprising the original entry made by Mr. Everett in 1845. The mines consist of nine cuts or openings, on as many different deposits of ore, though it is believed that some of them are continuous. The ore is a hematite, including both the hard and soft varieties -classified into specular, granular, slate and hematite-the latter referring solely to the soft ores. The beds are very irreg- ular in their formation, but, generally, have a very perceptible dip to the north.


CLEVELAND MINE,


From which the first shipments were made in 1855. The first opening was made in the spring or summer of 1854, the property having been previously explored by Messrs. John Outhwaite, Dr. Hewett, S. L. Mather, and W. J. Gordon, who were among the original incorporators of the company. The product of the year preceding the first shipments (about 3,000 tons) was made into blooms at the different forges, of which mention has already been made. The Jackson had commenced work the year previ- ous, but did not make any shipments till 1856, so that the Cleve- land is really the pioneer company of the district, so far as ship- ments are concerned. In 1856 the Jackson shipped about 5,000 tons ; the same year the Cleveland shipped 6,343 tons, against 1,447 tons the year previous.


In 1853 the Jackson and Cleveland Companies joined in the construction of a plank road from the settlement then known as Carp River, (now Marquette), to their mines, completing it in 1856, in which same year it was converted into a tram or wooden railway. It answered the purpose for which it was designed until the summer of 1857, when what is now the M. & O. Rail-


212


MINES AND FURNACES OF LAKE SUPERIOR.


way was completed and put into operation as far as the Superior mine. Up to this time the shipments from the Cleveland had been less than ten thousand tons, but the completion of the rail- way had the effect to increase shipments very materially, the product for 1857 being over 13,000 tons. For some reason ship- ments fell off the succeding year, and rallied again the year after, reaching 40,000 tons in 1860.


THE CLEVELAND DOCKS


At Marquette, which now have (1872) twenty-nine vessel, and six steamboat pockets, with an aggregate capacity of 2,200 tons, are to be extended, if weather and circumstances will permit through the winter, 350 feet, which will afford space for 54 additional pockets, or an additional aggregate capacity af 2,700 tons, making in all a pocket capacity of about 5,000 tons, and room to load six vessels at once.


They will also construct, on the shore east of their docks, a bulk-head with 600 feet water front and 400 feet in width. Their bulk-head, or in-shore dock, on the west side of the ore-docks is 210 feet front by 300 feet deep. So it will be seen that they propose to have double their present dock room for the accom- modation of business next season.


The stockholders of the Company have also organized a barge company, which is now having built, four steam barges, with consorts, for the transportation of ore, in order to relieve the company of the dictation and oppression of vessel owners when transportation is brisk and vessels scarce.


The officers of the company remain as before, with J. C. Morse as the efficient agent and local manager, and F. P. Mills, mining Superintendent.


We append a statement of the total product of the mine since the commencement :


Year.


Gross tons.


Year.


Gross tons.


1854


3,000


1865


33,957


1855


1,449


1866


42,125


1856


6,343


1867


75,864


1857


13,204


1868


102,213


1858


7,909


1869


111,897


1859


15,787


1870


132,984


1860


40,091


1861


11,795


1872


151,585


1862


37,009


1863


46,842


Tota


1.032,698


1864


45,927


1


1


I


1871


158,047


I


i


.


NOTE .- The improvements here mentioned, have been mostly com- pleted since the above was written .- Compiler of Directory.


213


MINES AND FURNACES OF LAKE SUPERIOR.


The following are the officers of the company :


President-SAMUEL L. MATHER.


Vice President-JOHN OUTHWAITE.


Secretary-FREDERICK A. MORSE.


Treasurer-S. L. MATHER.


Agent-JAY C. MORSE.


Mining Supt .- F. P. MILLS.


THE MARQUETTE MINE,


Is contiguous to the Cleveland, and is owned by the stockholders of the latter company, though under a separate organization. The following is a list of its officers :


President-JOHN OUTHWAITE.


Secretary and Treasurer-SAMUEL L. MATHER.


Agent-JAY C. MORSE.


Superintendent-F. P. MILLS.


The first shipments were made in 1864, though it appears that work was commenced much earlier. We append a statement of the product of the mine from 1864 to 1872 :


Years.


Tons.


Years.


Tons.


1864


3,922


1870


-3,702


1865


6,652


1871


12,000


1866


7,907


1872


11,924


1867


7,862


1868


7,977


65,745


1869


2,798


THE LAKE SUPERIOR MINE


Was opened in the fall of 1857, the first shipments being made the following year. The first work was done under the supervis- ion of Capt. Gilbert D. Johnson, who has ever since remained in charge of the location. The company owns a large estate on the " range," and has mines opened on sections 9, 10, 16 and 21, town 47, range 27. The principal mine, or what is known as the Lake Superior Mine Proper, is on sections 9 and 10, the ore being of the varieties known as slate, granular, specular and soft hematite. The deposit on section 21 is a soft hematite, continu- ous with the New England vein or bed, and believed to be quite extensive. But little has yet been done, hower, except to pre- pare the mine for future operations, though it is more than prob- able that the deposit will be extensively worked the coming sea- son. The machinery for hoisting and pumping is all in place, and we expect to see this new opening contributing largely to the product of the mines the present year, (1870.)


The opening on section 16 is contiguous to the old Parsons Mine, which was opened in 1864, and abandoned in 1866, after . 5,299 tons of ore had been raised. Subsequently the property was sold to the Lake Superior Iron Company, who are still its owners. The present owners have not, as yet, engaged in any


214


MINES AND FURNACES OF LAKE SUPERIOR.


mining operations on the Parsons tract, but are now working an opening on the adjacent section (16), which is often confounded with the Parsons.


Most, if not all, of the work on sections 16 and 21 has been done under the supervision of Capt. George Berringer, a most industrious and capable miner.


During the past two years the track of the M. & O. Railroad has been extended to the mine on section 21, and also to the New England, thus affording shipping facilities not before enjoy- ed by either.


The great center of attraction at the Lake Superior, however, is at the original location, on sections 9 and 10. It is to these mines or openings that operations are principally confined, and from them has been taken the great bulk of the ore mined and shipped during the past ten years.


THE HEMATITE MINE.


The hematite mine of this company, adjoining the specular mine at Ishpeming, is, without doubt, the most remarkable, in point of the extent of deposit and quality of the ore, in the en- tire district. The open level, 90 feet deep, heretofore worked, has shown a richness, as depth was obtained, which was not ex- pected.


This hematite opening is 400 feet long, in nearly an east and west direction, with an open level nearly 90 feet deep. This level is worked down close to the walls on both sides, at an average width of 60 feet, but each end shows a continuation of the vein to an undetermined distance. On the west end there is an immense quantity of ore mixed with rock, on the 90-foot face, which at this point is more than 80 feet wide; and at the east the work has been contracted to a much narrower space. Two incline skip roads, located about the center of the north side of the opening, on the north wall, are now used to elevate the ore from this mine, or a portion of the ore which is worked out of the open level. But a perpendicular shaft has been put down, through the north wall of the mine, to the depth of 130 feet-40 feet below the open level. Drifts had been made a few feet below the 90-foot level, and some ore was taken out by means of them, but not long since these drifts fell in by not having been sufficiently well supported by timbers, and it is now intended to work from the deeper, or 130-foot level.


It is on this level where the most wonderful and promising features of the mine are shown. A drift has been made from the bottom of a 130-foot shaft, east and west, to a distance of 400 feet, through ore, and on the west division of the drift, two cross-cuts, 50 and 60 feet respectively, have been made into the ore, in a northerly direction. Winzes are also down, in ore, on the main drift, to a considerable distance from the points where these cross-cuts are started, showing a body of hematite 40 feet


215


MINES AND FURNACES OF LAKE SUPERIOR.


deep by 60 feet wide, and of unexplored length-possibly as long as the main drift on the lower level-400 feet-but most likely much longer.


Suffice it, that this deposit of hematite astonishes the best miners, in its magnitude. It is intended to sink the perpendicu- lar shaft low enough to make drift connections with the winzes which have been sunk below the lowest, or 130-foot level, now ready for the stopers.


It will be readily understood, especially by miners, how much ore can be taken out of the line of 510 feet of drift which has been made in this mine, on the 130-foot level, and how much more can be taken out after the hoisting shaft has been carried deeper and drifts have been made to connect the winzes already down.


The only question with stopers would be, as to the quality of timber, and the care exercised in putting it up to protect them, while taking out the ore, for as there is no rock, and the deposit is composed chiefly of the soft dark and red hematite, the labor of mining will be almost as easy as the labor of dig- ging into a soap bank.


We would not undertake to call this the finest hematite mine in the world, but it is certainly the finest one we have ever seen located under ground, and more extensive than any which has come under our notice, among those which are located near the surface, or on the side of a bluff, as they usually are.


The " Hard Ore Mine," "Section 16 Mine," the " Parson Mine," " Section 21 Mine," and the " Prolific Mine," all belong to the Lake Superior Co., and show not only a large variety of ores, but all of them of the best and purest qualities.


The following is a statement of the product of this company up to the close of 1872 :


Year.


Gross tons.


Year.


Gross tons.


1858


4,685


1867


119,935


1859


24,668


1868


105,745


1860


33,015


1869


131,343


1861


25,195


1870


166,582


1862


37,709


1871


158,047


1863


78,976


1872


185,070


1864


86 773


1865


50,201


1866


68,002


Grand total,


1,275,919


1


THE NEW YORK MINE.


This mine is located, as is well known, on the north and ad- joining the Cleveland. The geology of this mine seems peculiar to itself. Two parallel veins of ore have been worked for some eight years past. The south vein yields a very hard specular ore, which runs at times into a steel ore, the granulation of which is almost as fine and compact as hammered steel. Upon taking a piece of this ore from the dump, and breaking it over the edge


216


MINES AND FURNACES OF LAKE SUPERIOR.


of an iron-bound wagon box, we found a fractured face which presented a peculiarly tough and elastic appearance, with a fibrin so close that had it been presented, with finished exterior, as a sample of steel, we would have been puzzled to determine whether it was genuine or not, without the use of a glass or the appliance of a tool.


This specular opening is now worked out for a distance of 500 feet, by 40 feet in width, the eastern end still yielding a good quality of hard ore, and the western end, which is being stoped on two or three levels, yielding the first quality of steel ore we have mentioned. On the south side of the eastern end of the opening, breast mining is being done under the hanging wall, following the dip of the vein, and there seems to be no reason why a shaft or cross-cut into a lower level would not guarantee a good face of ore on the same area which has been worked over.


A wall of rock some twenty-five feet wide, forming the foot- wall of the specular vein, intervenes between that and a parallel lode of slate and hematite. This wall is used as a working level for the derricks, pumps, dumps, skip roads, steam power, &c., in use in both veins. The north vein, of hematite and slate, dips to the north ;and east, leaving a " horse back," the wall men- tioned, between them. It has been worked out to nearly the same extent that the specular vein has been worked. The hang- ing wall of soap stone and slate rock, on the north side is being taken off, to expose, so far as possible, the lead of ore. This is quite an expensive operation, as the covering is quite thick, but it cannot be avoided because the formation is not sufficiently firm to remain as a roof.




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.