This helpful guide has information about nearly all Iron Range topics. The book appears to be unavailable in print so we offer you selections here. They make excellent handouts in the classroom and are appropriate for grades 5-12.
Note: Some of the documents are protected by copyright. They can be previewed, but not printed. We have posted them here to make your researching easier. If you like the resources, please purchase them from the links provided or find them at your local library.
A single-page map showing the various Ranges in northern Minnesota.
An introduction to the book, it also serves as a geological introduction to the area before people lived there. 5pgs
The history of logging era in Minnesota. Starting in the 1920s, loggers were cutting at the Rum River and Mississippi Rivers, and moved into northeastern Minnesota by the 1880s. This piece describes the process of getting the wood from tree to sawmill. A breakout box describes the Minnesota Forest History Center. 10pgs
A longer packet containing the history of the Vermilion Range from the Gold Rush just after the Civil War up to the present day. Breakout boxes describe the Tower-Soudan mine and include more information on underground mining. 13pgs
This piece tells the story of the "Seven Iron Men" who bought up the land rich with iron ore and became even richer. Includes some information on the Merritt brothers and their dealing with Rockefeller. 5pgs
An introduction to the Mesabi Range in the land, the places, and the people. 3pgs
A brief compilation of facts from each of the cities and town on the Vermilion Range including Ely, Tower-Soudan and Winton. Keep in mind that these were published in 1979 and some information may have changed. The area code on the range is (218). 1pg
Much more extensive than the Vermilion version, this guide highlights important information as well as activities to do in each of the towns mentioned. Towns include Kinney, Chisholm, Hibbing, Virginia and Grand Rapids. This would be an excellent starting point in doing a project planning a trip or vacation to the range. Keep in mind that this was published in 1979 and some information may have changed. The area code on the range is (218). 19pgs
including a wonderful map of the Vermilion range, this guide includes place of interest in terms of distance from roughly Virginia (intersection of 53 and 169) and includes information on what things there are to do at each of the sites. Keep in mind that this was published in 1979 and some information may have changed. Corresponds to information in the "At a Glance" guides. 3pgs
Including a wonderful map of the Mesabi range, this guide includes places of interest in terms of distance from Grand Rapids and includes information on what things there are to do at each of the sites. Keep in mind that this was published in 1979 and some information may have changed. Corresponds to information in the "At a Glance" guides. 3pgs
This is an extensive article about areas of the western iron range. Early in the 1900s, while other areas of the range were still mining high-grade ore, some forward-thinking entrepreneurs knew that eventually miners would have to focus on lower-grade ore and chose to create the Canisteo District, isolated entirely from the rest of the mining operation in the western reaches of the range. Includes biographies of the major players including John Greenway and details of the growth of the town. 17pgs
Often times, towns would be situation on what turned out to be the richest ore deposits. Mineral rights trumped private property rights and home owners were faced with having to abandon their homes and re-build or physically move their house to a new location. 4pgs
Ely was one of the largest towns on the Iron Range. This article points out some historic places of interest that you can still visit in Ely, as well as a history of the town and what life would have been like in Ely as a worker. 6pgs.
During the boom times of the Iron Range, many small mining towns sprung up overnight to accommodate the miners needed to extract the ore. Once the boom was over, the towns died quickly. Some no longer look like towns at all but for when it snows and the streets appear in snowdrifts. 4pgs
A unique one-day celebration on Labor Day in the town of Bovey, Minnesota, Farmer's Day is a celebration of the local farmers of the area. It has become more of a community celebration, but is one of the longest-running annual celebrations in Minnesota. 1pg
A single section of land 640 acres large became the source of a long and protracted legal battle in the 1880s when over 2,180 acres of land claims were submitted by various parties. The litigation continued for nearly a quarter of a century. Section 30 contained ore and many people felt they were entitled to it. For a
New York Times article from 1903 describing the battle
click here. 2pgs.
Long before there was iron mining on the range, there were people living there. Although they are not the original tribe to the area, most of this selection is dedicated to the Ojibwa/Anishinabe people, their history and way of life both past and present. 8pgs.
The first Europeans to the area, Voyageurs were generally French-Canadian men involved in the fur trade. This article describes their way of life and includes a recipe for voyageur jerky. 4pgs
As people migrated to the Iron Range for mining or logging, they needed a place to live and raise their families that sometimes joined them later. The land was wooded, meaning that any farming they wanted to do, the immigrants had to clear of trees first. The rest of the article discusses the lifestyles and naturalization tools used by immigrants to adapt to their new homes. 8pgs.
Many of the people who settled Minnesota's Iron Range were immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe. This reading explores some of the reasons people chose to leave Europe, what the voyage was like crossing the ocean and arriving in a new country. A breakout box mentions the benefit societies and temperence societies that attempted to help immigrants. 8pgs.
Focusing on the miners of the Vermillion Range, this article explores the conditions of working in an underground mine. Also included are breakout boxes with short stories about the pay, the light, the sounds, and the mystery of Lee Mine that disappeared one night. 4pgs.
Life was hard on the range and especially so for women. This piece looks at the lives of women on the range, how they arrived, and what they had to endure once they were there. Written in 1979, the piece questions how much womens' roles are changing on the range. 5pgs.
Perhaps surprisingly, the Iron Range was quite forward-thinking when it came to public transportation. There was a streetcar running between Gilbert and Hibbing and Greyhound Bus Lines had their start on the Iron Range transporting miners from the town of Alice to Hibbing. 5pgs
In northern Minnesota there is a John Greenway high school, mine, park, town hall and township. This one-page handout is a brief biography of a man who was an athlete, a soldier, and a patriot and who helped shape the western Mesabi Iron Range. 1pg
A biography of Dr. Tanner, a Finnish immigrant who became very involved in the cause of socialism and eventually founded the Tyomies Newspaper and worked as a doctor on the Iron Range. 10pgs
This is a poem by John Caddy, a third-generation native of the Mesabi Range. He has published numerous poetry books. This poem describes the harsh realities of the mines. 3pgs
MINING PROCESSES AND DANGERS
This piece explores the periods of growth in taconite mining during the 20th century. Includes a section describing how the iron ore is turned into taconite pellets and how they are shipped to various parts of the country. 4pgs
This handout has many pictures to help describe the process of mining on the Mesabi range. Mostly focusing on open-pit mining, it describes in great detail how the ore is removed from the ground and how that process has changed with new technologies. 4pgs.
A single page has information on places in Northern Minnesota to take a tour of an operating Iron Ore Mine or catch one of the great viewpoints created by open-pit mining. 1pg
Minnesota Mining Sites
A two-page handout contains short breakout boxes describing four mining locations of interest in Minnesota including the Minnesota Museum of Mining, Rust-Hull Mine, Hill Annex Recreation Area, Bruce Mine Headframe and the Iron Range Resource Center. A good resource for planning a trip or vacation to the range. 2pgs
Two breakout boxes describe mine safety in the 1800s including numbers of injuries and fatalities and explains the difficulties of the contract mining system where workers were paid based on what they produced. 1pg
Iron Range Workers Struggle for Recognition
An excellent two-page summary of the labor struggles and the fight for unionization on the iron range. Includes details about the 1907 and 1916 strikes. 2pgs