Iron Ore Cave – Tower, MN
N 47° 49.087 W 092° 14.732
15T E 556477 N 5296360
A sign at this Soudan Mine cave tells about hand loading that first ore train in 1884.
Waymark Code: WMFRH5
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 11/23/2012
Views: 7
A sign at this Soudan Mine cave tells about hand loading that first ore train in 1884. The text reads:
“Celebrating the First Iron Ore Shipment from Minnesota
Elisha Morcom (the mining superintendent) and his crew of 120 miners had worked hard (from their arrival in March) for this day. They spent long days hand drilling and hand stockpiling this new ore deposit. The railroad construction company worked all winter to bridge the gap through the wilderness between Lake Superior and the Soudan Mine.
The day is July 31, 1884; the railroad from Two Harbors had just been completed. Thomas Owen was at the throttle of the train as it pulled ten empty ore cars into the mine. The company declared a half day holiday and no one worked at the mine. All the townspeople joined together and loaded the ore cars by hand. The first shipment was 240 tons. Great speeches were presented and bright promises about the future success were made.
Imagine yourself helping to hand load that first ore train on July 31, 1884.”
A picture to the right of the text shows the Centennial reenactment of the first iron ore shipment.
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