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Iron Man Memorial, Chisholm

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Iron Man statue on top of the Iron Man Memorial

The Iron Man statue on top of the Iron Man Memorial, Chisholm. Photo by Pete Markham, April 22, 2009.

The Iron Man Memorial in Chisholm stands at eighty-five feet tall as a monument to the miners of Minnesota’s Iron Range. The nearly thirty-year story of its creation reveals northeastern Minnesotans’ commitment to recognizing their history, expanding local heritage tourism, and diversifying their economy beyond the mining industry.

The origin of the Iron Man Memorial can be traced back to conversations between World War II veterans (including Veda Ponikvar, publisher of the Chisholm Free Press) and citizens on the home front of the Mesabi Iron Range. Both groups wanted to honor the contributions of the local mining industry to the Allied victory as well as the broader industrial development of the United States. They also sought to memorialize fathers, uncles, and grandfathers who had worked for generations in the area’s open pit and underground mines.

In 1958, the Minnesota Museum of Mining in Chisholm submitted a proposal to the Centennial Statehood Commission asking for $21,875 dollars to fund the creation of an iron miner statue. The commission rejected the proposal, and limited finances within the mining museum put the project on hold. The idea and determination of its backers, however, remained.

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s mining industry evolved with the commercialization of taconite and the passage of the 1964 Taconite Tax Amendment, which funded regional efforts to diversify the economy, including tourism. It wasn’t until the early 1970s, as the nation prepared to celebrate the country’s bicentennial, that efforts to construct an iron miner memorial were revived.

In 1973, Chisholm was the first city in the state to apply for and receive official Bicentennial Community status from the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. This required the city government to assemble a committee representative of a cross-section of its citizens to plan at least three projects related to bicentennial celebration themes. The idea of an iron miner memorial surfaced again as a project with potential to impact the community beyond 1976 (no direct funding was received from either the state or national bicentennial organizing bodies, however, for the effort). Members of the Iron Ore Miner Memorial Committee reached out to artists across the country sharing their vision for a statue depicting iron miners of the early twentieth century. Miners of this era wore oilskin helmets lit by candles and carried pick axes, shovels, and lunchpails to work. Committee members ultimately hired sculptor Jack E. Anderson of Michigan, whose Shrine of the Snowshoe Priest in L’Anse had the realist style they wanted for the iron man.

Anderson titled his prospective work “Emergence of Man Through Steel.” He planned for a monument that would appear to erupt from the ground, with beams of core-ten steel surrounded by six thirty-five-foot diameter circles representing the world. Distinct rocks would represent the Mesabi, Cuyuna, and Vermilion ranges, and visitors would be able to enter the base, which was to resemble the inside of an underground mine drift. Visitors were also to be able to climb a spiral staircase within the statue to a room featuring an Iron Range model train and mining artifacts.

Initial estimates for the work were $300,000, and planners aimed to complete the statue by the summer of 1977. As project chair Peter DelGreco explained, the work was intended both to attract tourists and to honor miners. “We’ve got halls of fame for everything,” he noted, “except the working man.” Donations came in all sizes, including, as committee flyers detailed at the time, “$50 from a miner’s widow, $88 in a cigar box from a group of fourth graders at our Lincoln School in Chisholm, and many $1–$2–$5 from people.”

Rising material costs and conflicts between Anderson and committee members delayed the monument’s completion. In the 1980s, low-priced ore imports from Brazil and inexpensive steel from Japan sent the US steel industry into a recession, which further crippled local fundraising efforts. Although the Iron Man Committee had raised and spent over $100,000 by this point, it needed to raise $250,000 more before the figure could be cast in steel and completed. A letter sent to Gary Lampaa (incoming commissioner of the IRRB) in November of 1982 referred to the statue as sleeping in the basement garage of the Chisholm Senior Citizens’ Center, waiting to be plastered and cast in his iron work clothes.

In 1986, a grant from the IRRRB provided the funding necessary to complete the statue and move it from its original location on the grounds of the mining museum to land across from Ironworld USA (a museum and entertainment complex run by the IRRRB, formerly known as the Iron Range Interpretative [sic] Center). The committee scrapped plans for an elevator, restaurant, information center, and gift shop inside the base of the statue due to lack of funds.

A crowd of around 1,500 people attended the memorial’s dedication on July 4, 1987. Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich spoke of the miners it honored, stating, “through their hard work, they made life better for all of us. They made America what it is today.” The road leading to the statue was also dedicated as Veda Ponikvar Boulevard in recognition of her tireless support of the project.

The statue is widely recognized as a Minnesota roadside attraction and serves as an icon of the region, particularly in tourism promotion. It is broadly advertised as the third-tallest free-standing sculpture in the United States, but as Chisholm City Attorney Lou Cianni explained at the 1987 dedication ceremony, “I can name you 100 guys, honorable men who deserve this recognition. It’s not a tourist attraction. It’s a memorial. And it’s probably too small for the people it’s memorializing.”

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“35-Foot-Tall Miner Sculpture Unveiled in Chisholm.” AP News, June 30, 1987.
https://apnews.com/article/16bc23be3da8df7f98b97b95d77ba950

“A 70 Foot High, Sixty Ton Monument to Iron Ore Miner Now Under Construction.” Chisholm Free Press, April 15, 1976.

“Artistic Ability Evidenced in Miner’s Face.” Chisholm Free Press, June 11, 1987.

Coffman, Jack. “Iron Range Organizers Plan Museum, Monument to Honor First Ore Miners.” Minneapolis Tribune, February 22, 1976.

Holten, John. “Chisholm’s Monument to Miners in Jeopardy Till Funds Are Dug Up.” Minneapolis Tribune, January 21, 1982.

Hurst, Russell. “$47,000 in Centennial Pleas Rejected.” Minneapolis Tribune, July 18, 1958.

“Iron Man” Statue Collection, 1958–1990
Manuscript Collection, Iron Range Research Center, Chisholm
Description: Correspondence of the Iron Ore Miner Memorial Committee, sketches and architectural drawings, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other notes gathered by Robert Bizal, a longtime member of the committee and a Chisholm business owner.

“Iron Man Statue Has Lights Replaced.” Mesabi Tribune, July 16, 2020.

“The Iron Ore Miner Memorial Becomes a Reality After Long Wait.” Chisholm Free Press, June 18, 1987.

“The Iron Ore Miner Statue—So Near Completion—And Yet So Far Away; Please Help!” Chisholm Free Press, January 21, 1982.

Manuel, Jeffrey T. Taconite Dreams: The Struggle to Sustain Mining on Minnesota’s Iron Range, 1915–2000. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2015.

Minnesota American Revolution Bicentennial Commission. Final Report. St. Paul: The Commission, 1977.

“Pageant on Mesabi Shown in Chisholm.” Minneapolis Star, August 13, 1959.

Prince, Pat. “For Miners Who Built the Range, Chisholm Mounts 4-ton Memorial.” Minneapolis Star and Tribune, June 30, 1987.

Serrin. William. “Recession Silences the Mines of the Minnesota Iron Range.” New York Times, August 7, 1982. https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/07/us/recession-silences-the-mines-of-the-minnesota-iron-range.html

“Students, Adults Asked to Submit Iron Man Design.” Chisholm Free Press, February 27, 1975.

Zdon, Al. “Iron Miner Memorial Dedicated.” Hibbing Daily Tribune, July 6, 1987.

Related Images

Iron Man statue on top of the Iron Man Memorial
Iron Man statue on top of the Iron Man Memorial
Side view of the Iron Man Memorial, Chisholm
Side view of the Iron Man Memorial, Chisholm
Front view of Iron Man Memorial
Front view of Iron Man Memorial
Names on the base of the Iron Man Memorial
Names on the base of the Iron Man Memorial
Emergence of Man Through Steel plaque
Emergence of Man Through Steel plaque
Veda Ponikvar sign
Veda Ponikvar sign
Miners at work in an underground drift in Seller Mine, Hibbing
Miners at work in an underground drift in Seller Mine, Hibbing
Miners transporting ore, Chisholm
Miners transporting ore, Chisholm
Iron miner's helmet with lamp
Iron miner's helmet with lamp

Turning Point

In 1986, in the midst of a steel industry recession, a $492,000 grant from the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board funds the completion of the Iron Man memorial.

Chronology

1943

An Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Commission is founded with the mission of diversifying the economy of northeastern Minnesota.

1954

The Minnesota Museum of Mining opens in Chisholm in October.

1958

In July, Minnesota’s Centennial Statehood Commission turns down a request for $21, 875 from the Minnesota Museum of Mining to erect a symbolic statue of a miner.

1959

A pageant on Iron Range history created for Minnesota centennial celebration is performed at the mining museum amphitheater in August. Ticket sales contribute to funding for an Iron Man statue.

1973

An Iron Man Fund is established on September 3 with a twenty-five-dollar donation from Robert Bizal, owner of Chisholm’s A&W Drive-In.

1975

In February, an Iron Man design contest is announced for Iron Range and Duluth schools and area adults.

1976

In January, the Iron Ore Miner Committee decides on the Museum of Mining as the most advantageous site for the memorial.

1976

A groundbreaking dedication ceremony for the memorial is held at the Museum of Mining grounds on July 3.

1976

The Iron Ore Miner Committee applies for copyright protection of the statue’s likeness and various related souvenir items.

1977

The Iron Range Interpretative [sic] Center opens in Chisholm as part of larger heritage tourism efforts driven by the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB).

1982

Fundraising for the statue stalls as the steel industry experiences sharp recession and Iron Range communities experience unemployment rates from 25 to 60 percent.

1983

In February, conflict between sculptor Jack Anderson and committee member/local newspaper publisher Veda Ponikvar threatens to derail the project.

1987

The Iron Man Memorial is formally dedicated on July 4, with a ceremony attended by a crowd of roughly 1,500 people.

2020

Sodium-vapor light in the statue's helmet is replaced on July 16.