The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1937-01-21
DOCTORS PLAY
Continued from Page One)

mother city of all the range towns; the
gold rush of 1865 following the war, to
Gold Island, and the establishment of
the Vermilion Trail.
He then told of the advent of Dr.
Van Dusen. While somewhat vague, he
stated that "as far as I have been
able to learn he was the first doctor.
He remained for about a year. 1t is
stated he was homeopath.
I'm 1885, it is said, Dr. John Alden
came to Tower and remained there
about five years until 1890. He was in
private practice. During 1887 there
We're exploration camps at Ely and DIR.
Alden visited these camps often, COM
ing up on horseback I am told by old
timers that for few months of 1887,
DR.. Alden had a Doctor Anderson
stationed at Ely. A little later, DR..
Noble came to Tower and remained for
number of years.
''The first doctors for the mining
company at Soudan, as far as learned,
We're Drs. Robert and william Hutchin-
son, who came originally from Capron,
Illinois. The Minnesota Iron COM
pany erected the Sonudan hospital in
the spring and summer of 1885, This
was the first hospital to be erected on
any of the iron ranges of Minnesota
The first doctor to come to this
new hospital was DR.. w. E. Harwood,
of Joliet, Illinois, on May l, 1889 and
remained until october, 1897, when his
health failed and he left for the West
later returning to Minnesota at Eveleth
where he had charge of the Fayal
hospital. Later he established the
Fabiola hospital at Eveleth and had
associated with him DIR. Fred Barrett
and DR.. Charles Lenot At the out
break of the World War, he joined the
English medical service and died while
in service.
Or. Harwood's first mining expert
ence was at Ishpeming, Michigan,
where he was an assistant to Dr.
Bigelow along with Dr. Shipman.
Associated with DR. Harwood at the
Soudan hospital was DR.. w. w.
Richardson. After DR.. HARDWOOD left
the Soudan hospital, Dr. Richardson
became its head until 1901 and left
there for Alabama with the Tennessee
Coal & Iron company along with other
old timers at Soudan, Capt. Ball, the
Sloggetts, BairdS, Owens and several
other families.
DR.. Parker'S narrative at this point
concerns itself with the first resident
physician in Ely, DR.. Charles G.. Ship
man, who will be remembered by
large number of our people and in
which he says:
DIR. Charles Goodrich Shipman was
the first physician to locate in Ely. i.
He was born in 1856 in Madison, Wis
consin. His father was a veteran of
the Civil War and was commonly known
as Colonel Shipman. DR.. Shipman
walked into Ely the last five miles,
carrying such medical equipment and
instruments as was possible Among
these were dentists forcepS, as mining
physicians in those days had to do
extractions. For many years in the
attic OF the Shipman hospital there
were some old amputation knives about
a foot or more long that DR.. Shipman
NaiAfCo Will iliiil Oh ILLS OCCASION.
The railroad was built into Ely from
Tower and the first passenger train was
run on July 4, 1888 When DR.. Ship
man came in May, 1885, portion of the
track had sunk in muskeg swamp
about three miles out of Ely and the
track was impossible Mrs. Shipman
came later, in July, 1885, 1t took -
hours to make the trip from Duluth,
Mrs. Shipman said, and the day coach
left the track three times.
Or. and Mrs. Shipman had two
rooms over hardware store which also
did undertaking and there was a big
sign Undertaking in letters 10 inches
high This was the source of many
jokes, at the doctors expense. Before
winter, DR.. Shipman had finished
building which was the first drug store