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UP History <history0002.asp>>Iron Mining

Iron Mining
America's industrial strength rests upon a foundation of iron and its
product, steel. Perhaps more than any other resource or event, iron and
steel have transformed American society, from the infrastructure of her
cities, to the rural and urban workplace, to her vast transportation
network.

From diesel locomotives to guitar strings, and from the automotive
industry to the Arsenal of Democracy, Michigan's iron resources, the
capital of its investors, and the muscle and innovation of its work
force have helped to build and preserve modern America.

Since the mid 19th century, the chief business of the central Upper
Peninsula has been the production of iron ore. Not surprisingly, the
development of Michigan's iron wealth in the 1840s coincided with
unprecedented national growth. Both the quality and the quantity of
Michigan iron was unrivaled well into the 1890s.

Michigan led the nation in iron ore production for nearly a half
century. When the extraction of high grade ore from its underground
mines grew more difficult and expensive, Minnesota mines began to
outpace their Upper Peninsula neighbors. By 1900 more than two-thirds of
the iron produced in the United States came from the Lake Superior
region. Until Minnesota's vast Mesabi Range opened in the 1890s, more
than 80% of the Lake Superior ore was mined in Michigan. Michigan's
annual production peaked in 1918 when a work force of 18,000 men mined
more than 18 million tons of iron ore.

From the opening of the Marquette Range in 1845 to the early 1870s,
small companies with limited capital pioneered Michigan's iron industry.
For more than a decade, mines on the Marquette Range faced setbacks
posed by a hostile natural environment, inadequate transportation
systems, and high operating costs. However, in rapid succession, the
opening of the State Locks at Sault Ste. Marie in 1855 reduced the cost
of shipping by more than half; the construction of a steam railroad
linking the mines with their shipping port at Marquette in 1857,
streamlined local transportation; and the Civil War sparked demands for
Michigan iron ore to support the Union war effort. By the war's end in
1865, the Michigan iron industry was poised to feed America's Industrial
Revolution.

At one time or another companies opened more than 200 mines on the
Marquette Range, alone. However, economic depressions in the late 19th
century forced many small firms to merge with powerful companies. By the
early 20th century, three Cleveland, 0hio companies -Cleveland-Cliff,
Pickands-Mather, and M. A. Hanna - dominated the industry.

Communities such as Negaunee, Ishpeming, Diorite, North Lake, National
Mine, Republic and Gwinn grew up around Marquette Range mines, while the
City of Marquette developed around the shipping port and its ore docks.
Schools, churches and hospitals: saloons, liveries and butcher shops;
general stores, hotels and music halls met the growing needs of their
residents. Some mining companies built company towns, providing
inexpensive housing and services for their employees. The towns
prospered during mining booms, but when the industry faltered, they
struggled to survive.

The mines attracted an immigrant work force from throughout Europe to
the Marquette Range. Principal nationalities were the Cornish, Irish,
Canadians, Swedes and Finns. Others included Norwegians, Italians,
Austrians, Hungarians, Russians and Croatians. One observer noted "the
visitor to this mining country finds it the most cosmopolitan society he
has ever entered."

More than 150 years after William Austin Burt's government survey crew
located iron ore deposits near Teal Lake, at present-day Negaunee,
mining is still a lynch-pin of the Marquette County economy. Although
just two mines - the Empire and the Tilden - remain open, they produce
about 22% of the nation's iron ore. Owned in part and managed by
Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc., whose corporate heritage can be traced to the
opening of the Marquette Range, they employ more than 1,800 workers. And
evidence of a proud immigrant mining heritage is still found in place
names, community architecture, cuisine and family traditions throughout
Marquette County.


Thomas G. Friggens
July, 2000