Few People Know The Story Behind Minnesota Becoming The Iron Mining Capital Of The United States
By Trent Jonas|Published January 24, 2024
×
Trent Jonas
Author
Trent Jonas came to Minnesota to attend college - and never left. He's a Twin Cities-based writer with a BA in English and a MFA in creative writing, a Minnesota Master Naturalist, and the proud father of two adult children. With more than a decade of freelance writing experience under his belt, Trent is often out exploring his favorite topics: Minnesota's woods, lakes, and trails. Rhubarb pie is his weakness, so discovering new diners is also a passion.
Minnesota is the mining capital of the United States. Michigan and Utah are a distant second and third. The history of iron mining in Minnesota owes its start to a couple of precursors, though. The first was an event called the Midcontinent Rift. It occurred about 1.5 million years ago when tremendous heat and volcanic forces ripped across the continent, causing an upheaval that would form Minnesota’s North Shore and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, as well as a portion of the St. Croix River valley. Sediments and minerals subjected to the heat and pressure of the rift event cooled and were covered by a shallow sea, which evaporated, leaving iron-rich deposits along the Upper Peninsula and in a line stretching from Thunder Bay, Ontario, to near Brainerd, Minnesota.
The second precursor to iron mining in Minnesota was a gold rush.
In 1865, deposits of quartz bearing silver and gold flakes were discovered near Pike Bay on Lake Vermilion.
Old Vermilion Trail historical marker, Vermilion Trail, Makinen, MN 55763, USA
Prospectors rushed to the area, quickly established a settlement called Winston City, near what is now Peyla, and staked their gold claims. Unfortunately, the rumors of gold were much exaggerated, and the boom became a bust. By 1867, Winston City was a ghost town - and all the prospectors had managed to find was a bunch of iron-bearing ore, which they ignored.
It wasn't until 1884 that folks realized the value of the iron discovered in the area and opened up the Vermilion Range - stretching from Tower to Ely - for commercial mining.
The high-grade, hard ore of the Vermilion Range was beneath the surface and, therefore, it had to be mined underground. The Soudan Mine, for example, was 2,341 feet deep when active operations ceased in 1962. It is now open for tours in the summer as part of Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park. The park is one of several, in addition to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, that were established to diversify the area's economy toward tourism and outdoor recreation after commercial mining ended on the Vermilion Range in 1967.
Advertisement
A large iron deposit had also been discovered to the south and west of the Vermilion Range, near present day Mountain Iron.
The Merritt family opened the first mine in the region. In 1892, the Merritts' operation shipped its first load of iron ore, and the Mesabi Range was open for business. Stretching from Babbitt to Grand Rapids, the Mesabi is Minnesota's largest and most productive iron range.
Although initially more difficult to access than those in the Vermilion Range, iron deposits on the Mesabi Range were more amenable to open pit mining, and that is still how iron is mined today on the Mesabi.
Hull–Rust–Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine, Penobscot Road, Hibbing, MN 55746, USA
The Hull-Rust-Mahoning Mine, near Hibbing, is the largest open pit mine in Minnesota, and parts of the complex are still producing ore.
In the early 1900s, assayers identified deposits of manganese-rich iron ore south of the Mesabi Range, between Mille Lacs Lake and present-day Brainerd.
The first mine began operations in 1907, and the Cuyuna Iron Range shipped its first load of ore in 1911. In the ensuing years, demand for Cuyuna's ore skyrocketed, thanks largely to the world wars. The mines on the Cuyuna Range were a mix of underground and open pit operations. The worst mining disaster in state history occurred in 1924, when the water of a nearby lake burst through the walls of the underground Milford Mine on the Cuyuna Range, killing 41 miners.
As ore became more difficult to extract and production decreased, Cuyuna mining operations dwindled. The last shipment of Cuyuna Range iron ore occurred in 1982.
Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area, 307 3rd St, Ironton, MN 56455, USA
In an attempt to pivot the area's economy, in 1993, the Minnesota Legislature established Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area, which extends across much of the region's former mining area. Today, it attracts mountain bikers, hikers, anglers, and paddlers, as well as winter sports enthusiasts.
Iron ore remains a major industry in Minnesota today.
Indeed, thanks to iron mining in Minnesota, the Port of Duluth-Superior and the port of Two Harbors - a town of only 3,600 people - are two of the country's busiest ports by tonnage. In fact, by tonnage, more cargo moves through Two Harbors than Boston, Honolulu, or Detroit.
Like other extractive endeavors, Minnesota’s iron industry has seen enormous shifts, both up and down – especially over the last half century – as mechanization has increased and mining and steel-making processes have changed. The ability to mine and extract lower-grade ore from taconite has left the Mesabi Range with the only operating commercial mines in the state. Nevertheless, Minnesota continues to produce – by far – more iron than any other state.
If you’d like to learn more about this key industry in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, you’ll find several books over at Bookshop.org that go into much greater detail than I can here.
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
