The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1927-12-02

involves the names of number of
men of NATIONAL prominence. Some
of the early day promoters lost out,
but time developed that they were
started right, and if they had per-
sisted, or rather if they could have
persisted, they would have made mil
lions of dollars.
The Zenith iron mine is situated
at Ely, Mimi. 1t is described as the
north " of the southwest n of 81,
63-12. 1t consists of 80 acres di-
rectly east of, and adjoining the
famous Pioneer iron mine. The fee
of the Zenith mine is owned by the
Harvey Iron Company, Robert B.
Whiteside of Duluth and the Oliver
Iron Mining Company. The Harvey
Iron Company, which includes the
Congdon Estate, the Gayley Estate
and the holding of Thomas f. Cole,
owns $50 of the fee. Mr.. White
side owns 25% and the Oliver Iron
Mining Company 1919. Mr.. Whiteside
has owned his 25@o interest in the
fee from the beginning of the his
tory of the property as mineral
prospect, in the late eighties. Mr..
Cole and the late Chester A Coz gdon
did not acquire their interest until
later years. At the outset Ishpem-
ing, Mich, people owned ESQ and
Duluth people other than Mr..
WhiteSide owned 1917.
Real History Dates Fpom 1883.
1t was in 1888 that history on the
rugged tract of land which contains
the Zenith ron mine began to UNI
fold, and it was destined TO disclose
how flirtatious is fortune. The tickle
goddess caused such men as the late
Franklin Rockefeller and James Cor
rigan to back up OF the Zenith, and
that, it must be admitted, was going
some. In 1888 company known
as the Zenith Iron Mining Company
was operated by Simcee Chapman
and his associates. development
was begun that year, and the comp
any, being composed mainly of Du-
luth people, when Duluth was COM
paratively small place attracted con-
siderable attention. The success of
the Chandler and Pioneer iron mines
was being established at the time,
and both were then new producers.
The first iron ore to be shipped from
from the Vermilon range was in
1884, from the Soudan properties at
Tower, and the discovery of ore at
what is now known as Ely occurred
soon afterward.
Duluth Crowd No. 2 In Saddle.
Through the sale of blocks of the
stock of the Zenith Iron Mining
Company, control passed from the
hands of the original crowd, in the
course of a few years, to those of
another Duluth crowd. The COM
pany was capitalized at $1,000, 900,
divided into shares of 500 each.
The first shipment of ore was made
in 1891, with prospects fairly bright,
when in 1898 business was paralyzed
by the panic. The mining COM
pany could not get dollar for an old
one by mining and shipping its ore.
The property was closed down, and
the company was thrown into the
hands of a receiver as result of
the continued hard times over a
period of years. But the lease was
kept intact, payments being made
regularly on the minimum as pro-
vided in the contract with the fee
owners.
The Duluth members of the COM
pany were in need of new blood and
capital, and casting about in the
East for it induced James Corrigan
of Cleveland to join them, and he,
in turn, induced the late Franklin
Rockefeller to come in. Mr.. Rookie
Teller, as most readers are aware,
was brother of the Standard Oil
magnate. During October, 1896, a
new company was organized, known,
as the Zenith Iron Company. which
took over the affairs of the old COM
pany and thus acquired the Zenith
ease. The capital of the new COM
any was 100000, divided into
shares of par value of 500 each.
Corrigan and Rockefeller each took
one-third interest in the 5000 shares
of stock representing the capital of
the new corporation, and the other
one-third was distributed pro rata
among the stockholders of the de-
funct Zenith Iron Mining Company.
Operates At Heavy Loss.
Thes new company operated the
Zenith property for about two years,
during the dull period, from October,