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Cuyuna Iron Range

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Map showing the locations of the Vermillion, Mesabi, and Cuyuna Iron Ranges of Minnesota.

Map showing the locations of the Vermillion, Mesabi, and Cuyuna Iron Ranges of Minnesota.

The Cuyuna Iron Range is a former North American iron-mining district about ninety miles west of Duluth in central Minnesota. Iron mining in the district, the furthest south and west of Minnesota’s iron ranges, began in 1907. During World War I and World War II, the district mined manganese-rich iron ores to harden the steel used in wartime production. After mining peaked in 1953, the district began to focus on non-iron-mining activities in order to remain economically viable.

In the early 1880s, federal surveys noted magnetic anomalies near what would become the Cuyuna Range. No visible outcrops of iron ore were present at the surface. Henry Pajari and Cuyler Adams realized these magnetic anomalies could be buried iron ore deposits. Pajari was quickly frustrated in his search effort. Adams carefully mapped ore deposits over the next twenty years. By 1902, Adams began seeking outside investors to develop mines near the best locations.

In June 1907, Adams and his business partners enticed the Rogers–Brown Ore Company to open the Kennedy Mine, the first active iron mine on the Cuyuna Range. In 1907, the nearest town was too distant from the richest iron ore deposits. Adams bought and sold land to developers near the largest iron deposits for new towns. Around 1910, immigrants from northern and southern Europe settled into newly built mining communities with the hope of finding work at mines.

Demand for iron ore in the United States surged during World War I. Over thirty iron mines were operating at that time; most were underground operations. After the war, many of these Cuyuna Iron Mines closed. The few new mines of the 1920s were open pits that used large earth-moving equipment rather than shafts and tunnels to reach the ore.

The Milford Mine was a struggling underground mine. On February 5, 1924, water from an adjacent lake rushed into the underground tunnels, killing forty-one miners within minutes. The official investigations into the disaster found no individual or company to be at fault. The report stated that hidden geologic features near the lake were weakened by tunneling and allowed the water to drain into the mine suddenly.

By the early 1930s, the economic woes of the Great Depression affected mining in the Cuyuna Range. In 1932, the citizens of Crosby, the largest community in the region, elected Karl Emil Nygard as the first Communist Party mayor in the United States. Nygard’s city council opposed many of his relief policies. He spent much of his time stating his accom-plishments in speeches at political rallies outside the Cuyuna Range. In 1933, he lost his reelection bid.

By the early 1940s, demand for Cuyuna Iron ore peaked. Manganese-rich iron ores were important for making very hard steels. The Cuyuna Range held the largest domestic supply of this ore. Demand for iron and steel continued throughout World War II and the Korean War. In 1953, production on the Cuyuna Range reached its highest point, at a little over three-and-a-half million tons. In that year, producing other resources, like manganese, also became a priority. The Manganese Chemical Corporation, based in Riverton, researched new methods to turn manganese ore into products for modern batteries. The patents filed for this process continue to be cited by major battery companies in the twenty-first century.

The early 1960s saw a rapid decline in iron ore from the Cuyuna Range as seventeen mines closed between 1961 and 1965. The Manganese Chemical Corporation moved from Riverton to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1962. The passing of the Minnesota Taconite Amendment in 1964 incentivized production from other Minnesota iron ranges. By 1967, the last operating underground mine in Minnesota, the Armor #2 Mine near Crosby, was closed. By 1982, the last reported shipment of iron ore from the Cuyuna Range was made, ending the period of active mine operations in the district.

In 1993, local and state representatives created a new type of park in Minnesota from the former mine lands of the Cuyuna Range. The Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area contains most of the former mining landscape in the Cuyuna Range. This park attracts visitors that hike and bike along former mine roads and piles of overburden.

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© Minnesota Historical Society
  • Bibliography
  • Related Resources

Aulie, Berger. The Milford Mine Disaster: A Cuyuna Range Tragedy. Virginia, MN: W. A. Fish-er, 1994.

Cuyuna Country: A People’s History. 3 vols. Brainerd, MN: Bang Printing, 2004.

“Going…Going… Wrecking of the Old Armor #2 Mine.” Crosby-Ironton Courier, November 1, 1967.

Hansen, Arvy, ed. Cuy-Una...A Chronicle of the Cuyuna Range: Our Little Corner of the Land. Crosby, MN: Cuyuna Range Bicentennial Committee, 1976.

“Hasskamp Introduces Recreation Area Bill.” Crosby-Ironton Courier, March 3, 1993.

Himrod, Anna. The Cuyuna Range: A History of a Minnesota Iron Mining District. Washington, D.C.: Works Progress Administration, 1940.

“Manganese Plant to Start Test Operations.” Crosby-Ironton Courier, April 22, 1953.

“Recreation Bill Gets House Okay.” Crosby-Ironton Courier, April 28, 1993.

“Recreation Bill Signed by Governor.” Crosby-Ironton Courier, June 6, 1993.

“Riverton Manganese Plant Will Be Moved.” Crosby-Ironton Courier, February 7, 1962.

Sutherland, Frederick. "The Cuyuna Iron Range: Legacy of a Twentieth Century Industrial Community." PhD diss., Michigan Technological University, 2016.

Welsh, Jay Y. “Process For Producing Manganese Dioxide.” U.S. Patent number 2,956,860, Filed April 11, 1957, and issued October 18, 1960. http://www.google.com/patents/US2956860?dq

Related Images

Map showing the locations of the Vermillion, Mesabi, and Cuyuna Iron Ranges of Minnesota.
Map showing the locations of the Vermillion, Mesabi, and Cuyuna Iron Ranges of Minnesota.
Black and white photograph of a train carrying first shipment of iron ore from the Kennedy Mine on the Cuyuna Iron Range, 1911.
Black and white photograph of a train carrying first shipment of iron ore from the Kennedy Mine on the Cuyuna Iron Range, 1911.
Black and white photograph of Cuyler Adams, c.1915. Photographed by Lee Brothers.
Black and white photograph of Cuyler Adams, c.1915. Photographed by Lee Brothers.
Black and white photograph of a stockpile or iron ore at Deerwood on the Cuyuna Iron Range, c.1918.
Black and white photograph of a stockpile or iron ore at Deerwood on the Cuyuna Iron Range, c.1918.
Black and white photograph of the Kennedy Mine, Cuyuna Range, c.1920. Photographed by the Aitkin Independent Age.
Black and white photograph of the Kennedy Mine, Cuyuna Range, c.1920. Photographed by the Aitkin Independent Age.
Black and white photograph of the Milford Mine, 1936.
Black and white photograph of the Milford Mine, 1936.
Black and white photograph of Karl Emil Nygard in 1930, before he became the mayor of Crosby. Courtesy of the Nygard family.
Black and white photograph of Karl Emil Nygard in 1930, before he became the mayor of Crosby. Courtesy of the Nygard family.
Black and white photograph of Karl Emil Nygard in 1933, when he was mayor of Crosby. Courtesy of the Nygard family.
Black and white photograph of Karl Emil Nygard in 1933, when he was mayor of Crosby. Courtesy of the Nygard family.
Map of the iron ranges of the Lake Superior region
Map of the iron ranges of the Lake Superior region

Turning Point

On February 5, 1924, water from an adjacent lake rushes into the underground tunnels of the Milford Mine, killing forty-one miners within minutes. It is the largest number of deaths from a mining accident in Great Lakes mining history. Within a decade of the event, most new mines in the Cuyuna Range would be more modern open-pit mines.

Chronology

1882

Henry Pajari and Cuyler Adams explore magnetic anomalies in the Cuyuna Range. Pajari is unsuccessful in locating a marketable deposit while Adams continues mapping iron ore deposits.

1893

The first iron-mining company on the Cuyuna Range is started by Brainerd businessmen P. G. Fogelstrom and Dr. Werner Hemstead but fails to find any marketable iron ore.

1902

Cuyler Adams completes his survey of buried iron deposits and begins organizing a railroad company and ore dock facility before encouraging investment in local iron mines.

1905

According to local lore, Adams’ wife, Virginia, names the Cuyuna Range by merging the names of Cuyler Adams and his dog, Una.

1907

The first operating mine on the Cuyuna Range, the Kennedy Mine, is opened.

1908

The city of Crosby, which will become the largest community in the mine district, is surveyed by Matt and George Crosby.

1918

Demand for iron ore peaks during World War I. Over thirty small iron mines are active in the Cuyuna Range.

1924

Flooding caused by a nearby lake draining rapidly into the Milford Mine kills forty-one miners—the most killed by a single event in the entire Great Lakes mining region’s his-tory. Official investigations do not place blame on any company or individuals.

1932

A Communist Party candidate, Karl Emil Nygard, is elected as mayor for the city of Crosby while communities in the region struggle economically during the Great Depression.

1942

The United States expands military production during World War II. Demand for Cuyuna Range iron increases again.

1953

Peak production is reached at 3,714,634 tons of iron ore.

1960

Jay Welsh invents a process to develop manganese for batteries at the Manganese Chemical Company’s facility, which processed manganese rich iron ore in Riverton. The process is still cited as relevant by modern battery makers.

1967

The Armor #2 mine, the last operating underground mine in Minnesota at the time, closes.

1982

The last reported iron ore shipment is made from the Cuyuna Iron Range.

1993

Most mine lands are consolidated into the Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area.