Menominee Iron Range Iron River, Iron Mountain, and Vulcan, Michigan Tour Leader, Mark Langenfeld June 9, 2019
PHOTO GALLERY 2 of 5
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STOP 2.The Caspian No. 1 Headframe is the centerpiece of the Iron County Historical Museum.
This headframe survived a disastrous mine cave-in which destroyed two other shafts at the mine and caused the mine to shut down.
Ore was hoisted up the shaft and loaded into cars of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad for the trip to the ore dock in Escanaba.
The museum is housed in the Hoist House of the No. 1 Shaft.The grounds contain a collection of pieces of mining equipment from several of the mines in the area.The Snow Roller (left) was used to compact snow on roads during the winter.It was a much better solution than plowing. The hump-backed explosives magazine (right) is partially underground for safety.
Eimco loaders, drill jumbos, and mine rail cars of various ages and designs were used in local mines.
Diamond drilling was adopted early on all of the Michigan iron ranges.The portable boiler at the right generated steam to power this drill.
Hopefully the iron jail cell from the Gaastra mining village was originally inside some kind of structure.Otherwise, if the cold didn’t get the prisoners, the mosquitoes would.
(Above) Drilling and blasting are illustrated with a cartoon from a company safety manual.
(Right) Different mining methods used on the Menominee Range are shown in this exhibit.
The museum contains extensive displays depicting the everyday lives of the miners and their families.One item that caught our eye was this detailed set of miniature tools carved in his spare time by an immigrant Czech miner.
Our visit to the Iron County Historical Museum was followed by a traditional miners' pasty, a U.P. favorite of iron and copper miners alike.Looks like Dawn prefers her pasty plain.
Photos Courtesy Dawn and Johnny Johnsson, Pat and Mike Kaas.
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