Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-06
MINES OF MICHIGAN
The Interesting Story of Cop
per and Iron.
BASIS OF NATIONS WEALTH
Development of Resources Compare
lively Recent.
COPPER DEPOSITS LONG KNOWN
Futile Effort to Organize Company in
London-Careful Reports
of DR.. Houghton.
Il WILLIAM Z. CURTIS.
~.r.lri tarrrsuou,eucn If The star and the Chicago
IInra

Nl-.jr correspondence Of Tie star and the Chicago
Record Herald.
IiOUGHTON, Mich, September ~ 1891
Go j. undoubtedly tTus. as contended. pig
:"u hr:ns The keystone of the industrial
arts that the rapid advance and present
supremacy of The United States In wealth,
.omr,lry and manufacture. is very largely
.tr. to thc abundance of minerals in the
LAX, Superior region, tie ease and econ
utHy with which they can be mined. and
the loy rate OF transportation ON the lake;
90 a." furnaces and mills of Ohio, Penn
y.Nau and other states. Yet the develop
ir"ur pf these wonderful resources is COM
r.ra,vcIy recent. Several men are yet liv-
Ing hn were at the genesis. For exam
..r. Peter White Of Marquette. the first In
wHr tie first In peace and the first in the
.~trts of the peop.e of northern Michigan,
assisted as a boy in stripping the first
..u. u ne ON Lake Superior. and he saw
'3r INST copper mine in operation. He
IS .uIr the bill of lading for the first ship
rI,. 80 of IRON ore from Lake Superior, and
g~T DO" j. q man still in his prime. vigorous
3. health. active i'll many spheres of use
fGra~s- and as enthusiastic a boy.
iron was tirst discovered in the Lake
Superior country September 10 1914, by
William \ Burt, deputy surveyor general
"f the luited States. who was engaged in
mapping the upper peninsula. Noticing
-h, fluctuations of the needle, he instructed
his men to look around and see If they
could find any reason for it In the ground.
Mr Hi,rt was Massa chusetts man who
lad come west as surveyor in 1874. he
was a member OF the territorial council
- Michigan. and was actively interested
INA the development of the mineral resources
~ tine state He possessed Inventive facui-
les uI the highest order, and his expert
meuts IN magnetism contributed important
knowledge to the scientific world.
Manufacture of Iron.
L.,.. ,f his men found out-Cronpings of
iron under the sod. and reported them on
II ali maps and in their communications to
the surveyor general, but no member of
the party appears to have pro1ted by the
Information. and 1t was not until the sum-
rIer of 1s47 that any attempt was made
"a mine the ore. A blacksmith of the
.amt of ODDS of Cucush prairie made the
Hrst iron from Lake Superior ore. which
was brought to him by man named
Berry. In the summer of 1917 the first iron
made in the Lake Superior region was
forged by Ariel n. Barney, who sod 1t to
r. g. Ward of Detroit. to be used in
walking beam for the steamer Ocean The
forge situated on Carp river, near the
Saul Ste. Marie. and produced about SIX
tons a day, which was carted by teams to
Marquette
From that time on the de development was
eady but slow Hemen B. Ely of Cleve-
land undertook TO build a railway from
Marquette to the Jackson and Cleveland
mines under a contract that they should
furnish him 30 90 tons of freight a year
and tnCreaR@the amount gradually to 125.-
$50 tons. This to be called the Green
Bay and Lake Superior railroad. But they
were compelled TO put up with d plank
road instead. and Peter White of Mar
aUette sent over it the first shipment of
non that ever left the region. consist
ing of six barrels, consigned to B l.. Webb
OF Detroit by the Marquette Iron Com
pany on the steamer Baltimore. The orig
inal bill of lading has been preserved and
* now hanging upon the wall of the office
ri Ogiebay. Norton & Co., Wade building.
Cleveland Ohio.
The first shipment of ore to Pennsylvania
was in September. 1853 when the Cleve-
land Mining Company sent 152 tons to
Sharon from Marquette via the Sault Ste.
Marie. where il was portrayed around the
falls. II was landed at Erie. Pa. and for
wdrded by canal to the Sharpsville fur
mace at Sharon, owned by David and j. F..
Agn"W. They mixed the Lake Superior
ore with common Pennsylvania ore and
worked IT up into boiler plate, bar iron.
nails and spikes. producing samples of the
very best quality.
IN August. 1856 Charles Howard of the
Falcon Iron works of Youngstown received
the first Lake Superior ore that was ever
-me!ted in Ohio. He paid IS a ton for 800
tons mixed it with the native ore and
Worked it up into understandable iron with
great success.