In the early 1880’s Crystal Falls was one of the main iron mining towns in the Upper Peninsula. Solomon D. Hollister, a native of Sparta, Wisconsin made his way to the Crystal Falls area in 1880. He became associated with George Runkel, who was born in Germany, and also came to the area in 1880. Together they discovered that there was much iron ore to be mined here, and formed the Crystal Falls Iron Company. This company made the greatest single contribution toward the development of the district.

In the spring of 1881, Hollister and Runkel were convinced they had discovered a new iron range. The Chicago and North-Western Railroad was completed in Crystal Falls in June of 1882, paving the way for transporting the many tons of ore to the ports on the Great Lakes. There wee six active mines in the area when the railroad was completed and a total of 42,111 tons or ore was shipped the first year.

The first mine in the Iron County area was the Fairbanks or Paint River mine in Crystal Falls. Opened in 1882 and operating until 1913 it shipped a total of 382,089 tons of ore. The Great Western Mine, the deepest in the area at a depth of 700 feet when it opened in 1882, employed about 130 men. By the time it closed in 1910 it had reached a depth of 1,250 feet and shipped 2,296,739 tons of ore. The Crystal Falls Mine opened in 1882, operated until 1913 and shipped a total of 1,744,015 tons of ore. The Youngstown Mine opened in 1882, operated until 1897 and shipped 151,425 tons of ore. In 1949 it was reopened along with the Bristol Mine as the Bristol- Youngstown Mine with shipments in 1950 that amounted to 105,018 tons. The Bristol Mine opened in 1892. In its lifetime, it shipped 8,726,097 tons of iron ore. Sinking down to a depth of 1,525 feet, it was mined by shrinkage and sublevel stoping methods. It was the last operating mine in Crystal Falls, closing in 1969. The Dunn Mine, also one of the larger producers, opened in 1887 and operated thru 1915. It shipped a total of 2,208,511 tons of ore. The Tobin Mine opened in 1901, reached a depth of 1,783 feet, shipped 4,630,052 tons of ore, and closed in 1958. Other mines in the Crystal Falls area included: Ravenna-Prickett, Lamont, Lincoln, Hagerman, Hilltop, Victoria, Hollister, Armenia, McDonald, Lee Peck, Cayia, Hope, Kimball, Odgers, Genesee, Columbia, Monongahela, Carpenter, Lawrence, Richards, and the Fortune Lake Mines.

Miners received from $2.00 to $2.25 per ten hour day in the 1880’s. They would work one week of days and one week of nights alternately. Contract miners received $2.50 to $3.50 a day, while surface laborers received $1.70 to $2.00 a day.

The conditions in the mines were poor and unsafe and many lives were lost each year. The only compensation paid to the widows and children were the funeral expenses of the dead miner and one or two month’s pay. When a miner was killed in an accident, the miners would not enter a mine until the body of their comrade was interred, thereby stopping all operations at the mines for a day or two and causing considerable loss to the mining companies. On September 28, 1893, the Mansfield Mine along the nearby Michigamme River, caved in, killing 27 miners. Sixteen miners died in the Porter Mine cave in on February 21, 1918. The main concern of the mining companies was to get the ore out, no matter what the risk.

Stories told by the old miners, the many open pits, test pits, and stock piles scattered across the area are all that is left to remind us of the mining industry that caused the founding and growth of the Crystal Falls area.

INTERESTED IN THE MINING HISTORY IN IRON COUNTY?  GET YOUR OWN COPY OF A NEW BOOK "MEN, MINING & MEMORIES".
This 112 page book includes 79 photos, statistical descriptions of all Iron County Iron Mines, Production lists, 20 interviews, list of 562 men who perished in the mines, and much more!

Men, Mining & Memories is available thru the Iron County Museum for $25.00 + $5.00 mailing fee.   Iron County Museum-Box 272- Caspian, MI  49915