Iron Range - History

History

Prior to the 19th century, the area that would become the Iron Range was inhabited mainly by Native American groups. The area was the site of intensive logging operations during the 19th century.

The history of mining on the Iron Range began in the late 19th century following a report that there were deposits of gold on the shores of Lake Vermilion. Although miners never found commercially valuable amounts of gold in the region, the reports led to an increase in the region's population. Iron ore was first discovered in the northern Vermilion iron range, where underground mines developed to remove the valuable ore. The discovery of hematite on the large Mesabi range cemented the area's position as the foremost source for iron ore throughout the early 20th century. Iron mining operations on the Mesabi range took place in enormous open pit mines where steam shovels and other industrial machines could remove massive amounts of ore. Amid worries that the rich hematite ore would give out, mining operations turned to low grade taconite as a source of iron ore in the second half of the 20th century.