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Mining History Association Annual Conference, June 6-9, 2019 Marquette, Michigan
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Welcoming Reception, 5:30 – 8:00 p.m., Thursday, June 6, 2019. Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum, 501 W. Euclid St., Ishpeming, MI. The 2019 opening reception was held at the Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum in the historic mining town of Ishpeming. The striking backdrop for the opening sequence of Otto Preminger’s classic crime/courtroom drama, “Anatomy of a Murder,” is the unmistakable profile of the unique and iconic Egyptian Revival-style A and B shaft houses of the Cliffs Shaft mine. They are now preserved at the museum along with the mine’s dry, warehouse, shops and modern-era “C” shaft. A light meal and beverages were served, and attendees were free to explore the museum's grounds, buildings, and extensive mineral display. Museum docents were be on hand to interpret exhibits and answer questions. Awards Banquet, 5:30 – 9:00 p.m., Friday, June 7, 2019. A social hour and the annual MHA Awards Banquet was held at the Masonic Center ballroom. Special post-banquet speaker: 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. Noted photo historian Jack Deo presented “A 3-D Trip to the Mines in 1870.” Using state-of-the-art 3-D and digitizing technology, Jack took us into the visual depths of the Upper Peninsula’s historic iron and copper mines as recorded by vintage stereo view cards. Presidential Luncheon, Noon-1:30 p.m., Saturday, June 8, 2019. The Presidential Luncheon was held In the Harbor Room of the Landmark Hotel. The luncheon program included the “Passing of the Presidential Pick” to Stephanie Saager-Bourret, MHA President, 2019-20. The Presidential Lecture followed.
TOURS AND FIELD TRIPS (CLICK ON Cleveland-Cliffs Tilden Mine Overlook and Historic Cliffs Cottage Tour, 9:30 a.m. – Noon, June 6, 2019. The tour departed from and returned to the Landmark Inn. Bus transportation was provided by Cleveland Cliffs. This tour bus made its first stop at the pit overlook at the Tilden mine, the last operating iron mine on the Marquette Range. The Tilden pit currently measures 1.5 miles E/W, 0.7 miles N/S, and is 1,400 feet deep. Taconite pellets made from the mine’s hematite ores were first produced in 1974, and it is expected to continue operations for at least another 15 years. The second stop was at the remarkable Cliffs Cottage. Built at the turn of the last century, the “cottage” served as Cleveland-Cliffs president William G. Mather’s residence and headquarters during his frequent visits to the company’s mines. After expansion in 1903, the cottage saw increased use for business purposes, including board of directors’ meetings and meetings with local mine managers. Although the cottage remains in use today (housing visiting executives and engineers, and hosting a variety of civic events), much of the original ambience remains – including the billiards and sitting rooms, and the polished jasper hearths. Tour of the Humboldt Mill, Lundin Mining Corporation, 10 a.m. (at the mill, 4547 Country Rd., 601, Champion, MI 49814) - Noon, Thursday, June 6, 2019. Transportation by personal vehicles. Lundin’s underground Eagle mine, not part of the tour, is located about 27 miles northwest as the crow flies from Marquette. It produces high-grade nickel/copper ore. CLICK HERE for a video of the mine. That ore is transported by truck to the Humboldt Mill for processing. The mill is located about 23 miles (approximately 40 minutes) west of Marquette at the village of Champion. At the Humboldt Mill we learned about the history of and operations at the Eagle mine, and saw what happens to the nickel/copper ore after it leaves the mine site. This was a walking tour, beginning at the administrative office. The tour followed the circuit of crushing, grinding and flotation processes, taking the ore from haul truck to concentrate shipment via rail car. The Humboldt mill is itself historically significant in its prior roles as the primary mill for the co-located Humboldt iron mine for which it was built, later as the gold mill for Callahan Mining Corporation’s mid-20th-century operations at the nearby Ropes mine, and as an industrial minerals plant for the Minerals Processing Corporation. Lundin has since completely upgraded the mill to modern standards and metallurgical technology for processing its nickel/copper ores. The long-abandoned and flooded Humboldt pit is now used for environmentally friendly tailings disposal. Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives Open House, 1:00 pm – 4:00 p.m., Thursday, June 6, 2019. The extensive collections housed at the Northern Michigan University Archives in Marquette include a remarkable assemblage of more than a century of the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron (CCI) Company and other mining industry records, documents, and photographs, many of which will be on special display during the Open House. Conference registrants who were unable to attend the Open House were encouraged to visit the Archive during its regular business hours. Additional information is available on the Archives web page, https://www.nmu.edu/archives . Rock and Mineral Collecting Trip, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., Thursday, June 6, 2019. Some MHAers won’t call a conference complete until they have had an opportunity to wield a rock hammer. Representatives of the Ishpeming Rock & Mineral Club led by Bob Clark, guided MHAers to the old Champion Mine, one of the better local collecting spots. Historic Downtown Marquette Walking Tour, 1:30 - 4:00 p.m., Thursday, June 6, 2019. The tour began in the lobby of the Landmark Inn. This 12-block walking tour featured downtown Marquette and some of the finest buildings constructed in the history of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Participants learned about the city’s rich history and saw many of its magnificent old red sandstone and white limestone buildings. Featured sites included the Peter White Public Library, The Marquette County Courthouse, and St. Peter’s Cathedral. Other sites included the Statue of Jacques Marquette, Harlow’s Wooden Man, and the iron ore dock and customs clearing house in Marquette’s Lower Harbor. The guide for the tour was Fred Huffman from Marquette Country Tours, a noted local historian and tour guide. Unfortunately, no photographs were taken on the Walking Tour. The CONFERENCE OVERVIEW GALLERY has some nice photos of downtown Marquette. Special Saturday Evening “Tour, Tasting, and Documentary,” 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., June 8, 2019, Negaunee High School. A VANISHING BREED - THE MEN AND MEMORIES OF THE MATHER B. The last of the Marquette Range’s underground mines, Cleveland Cliffs’ iconic Mather B, operated from 1950 to 1979. Bottoming at 3,660 feet, the mine produced a remarkable 42-million tons of high-grade natural iron ore (almost 57-million tons when combined with the connected Mather A mine). The staff and students of Negaunee High School offered MHAers a unique opportunity for a first-hand look back at the Mather B by visiting the school itself - which, before being repurposed, served as the mine’s dry, shops and administrative offices. Attendees got a through-the-fence view of the Mather B hoist house and shaft cap, and a brief tour of the service tunnels which remain below the school - largely untouched since the mine closed. A light supper of the regional favorite cudighi sandwiches was served in the school cafeteria (you haven’t REALLY experienced the Michigan U.P. until you’ve had both a pasty AND a cudighi). Supper was followed by a showing of the acclaimed student documentary film, “A Vanishing Breed – The Men and Memories of the Mather B,” in the school auditorium. All-day Field Trip, The Menominee Iron Range, 8 a.m. – 6:30 p.m., Sunday, June 9, 2019. The tour departed from the Landmark Inn. The Menominee Iron Range lies about 50 miles south of the roughly parallel Marquette Range. Because of the steeply dipping ore bodies common to the Menominee Range, most of its mines went underground from the start. The range was in continuous production from 1870 through 1978. This all-day tour explored the range from west to east by air-conditioned motor coach. Stops included: the substantially intact, early-20th-century Cardiff and Caspian mine headframes (the last two headframes still standing in Iron County, MI); the Iron County Historical Museum (where we enjoyed of a traditional pasty lunch); the spectacular 1893-vintage, 725-ton, E. P. Allis pump at the Cornish Pumping Engine and Mining Museum at Iron Mountain, MI; and the “Iron Mountain” (Vulcan) tour mine, where we went underground for a first-hand sense of the scale and substance of historic Menominee Range mining. Local historian/geologist Tom Mroz joined us there to help interpret both the geology and development of the eastern end of the range.) All-day Post-Conference Field Trip, Fayette, Michigan, An Iron Smelting Town, 10:00 a.m. (at Fayette) – 4:30 p.m., Monday, June 10, 2019. The Fayette historic townsite is located approximately 92 miles and about a two-hour drive SSE of Marquette and the Landmark Inn. There is no individual admission fee, but each vehicle must display a park pass (currently $16 [annual] for vehicles with Michigan license plates, and $9 [one-day] for those with out-of-state plates), available on site. The Michigan History Center offered us an exceptional opportunity for a detailed tour of the Fayette Historic Townsite. It is perhaps the most picturesque and best-preserved historic village in the mid-western United States. From 1867 to 1891, Fayette was a busy smelting town, producing charcoal pig iron from ores supplied by nearby Michigan and Wisconsin mines. It was constructed by the Jackson Iron Company with the objective of producing a value-added iron product and saving the transportation cost associated with shipping the waste components of the iron ore. Today, it is preserved in a state of arrested decay on the scenic north shore of Lake Michigan. This spectacular historic site invites visitors to explore numerous domestic and commercial structures, as well as the iron furnaces and charcoal kilns themselves. The site historian, Troy Henderson provided the walking tour focusing on the site’s industrial history, and on the civic and social dimensions of a remote 19th century company town. A catered lunch was served.
Michigan Travel, www.michigan.org Upper Peninsula Travel, www.uptravel.com Marquette Tourism, www.travelmarquettemichigan.com The Landmark Inn, www.thelandmarkinn.com
CLICK HERE FOR LOTS MORE VISITOR INFORMATION.
READING AND REFERENCES (A Short List) Boyum, Burton H., The Saga of Iron Mining in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, John M. Longyear Research Library, 1983. Reed, Robert C., Michigan Iron Mines, Michigan Geological Survey, 1957, www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/NSFE_304650_7.pdf Allen, R. C., Gold in Michigan,, Michigan Geological Survey, 1980, www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/GIMDLOFR8001_216165_7.pdf CLICK HERE FOR MORE READING AND REFERENCES 2019 CONFERENCE PROGRAM COMMITTEE Terry Reynolds Stephanie Saager-Bourret Erik Nordberg 2019 CONFERENCE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE  |
