 | | With vivid, informative displays, the museum does an outstanding job of conveying what a key role Michigan iron mining has played in the growth of the country. | Overlooking a picturesque river valley near Negaunee, this fine little state museum, open free of charge, shows in dramatic displays how U. P. iron was central to America's industrialization.
The museum is in the rugged, wooded hills at the place on the Carp River where an iron forge was built in 1848. That was just four years after Burt discovered iron not far from Teal Lake. The whole area was a wilderness at the time, well beyond the boundaries of settlement.
 | | Nature has reclaimed the striking site on the Carp River where in the mid-19th century a variety of iron products where forged. | Red outcrops of conglomerate rock in this area are a stunning foil for the dark green of conifers. The forge here converted ore directly into wrought iron shipped to Boston, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and the U.S. Naval Yard for use in the manufacture of nails, bolts, wire, boiler plate, steam engines, ordnance (military supplies), and ship construction.
It took an acre of hardwoods to make five tons of iron. Little remains of the long-abandoned forge. Some parts of it have been discovered through archaeological research. Today a pleasant nature trail leads from the museum past the 19th-century forge site. The delightful setting, fragrant with pine and meadow grasses in summer, makes this a nice place to linger. It's a handy rest and exercise stop for travelers heading across the Upper Peninsula.
An excellent, insightful tape-slide show, "Life on Michigan's Iron Ranges," shows how hard the mostly immigrant work force labored — for 60-hour work weeks — and how much work the women did to support their families: gardening, cooking, taking in boarders and their wash. Upper Peninsula mining began before farmers and normal town developers had settled the area.
So mining companies had to be community-builders, too. It was in mining companies' interests that mining settlements quickly grow out of the raw boomtown stage where miners were single men, saloons were the centers of social life and brothels flourished. Companies successfully developed stability within their work force through low-cost housing rentals and various subsidies to churches and community centers. Corporate paternalism has been a big part of the history of many communities on the iron ranges. Many of the Upper Peninsula's most impressive public buildings were paid for with company money.
The museum does a good job of showing just how important the U.P.'s iron has been. Almost half of the nation's iron from 1850 to 1900 was mined in Michigan. Other states mined iron, too. In 1860 ore was also being mined in Pennsylvania (which produced three times as much iron as Michigan), New Jersey (the nation's #2 producer), Connecticut, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, and Ohio.
However, Marquette Range iron tested high for strength and purity. In the 150 years since 1833, the California gold rush produced less than a billion dollars of minerals. Michigan forests produced almost $4.5 billion of timber. The Keweenaw copper range generated about twice that amount. But these are dwarfed by the riches from iron, worth some $48 billion.
Fundraising has built a new 4,000-square-foot museum expansion. It has a gallery for temporary exhibits including artifacts from the permanent collection. Permanent exhibits must wait for a new round of fund-raising. There's a bigger museum shop — an increasingly important revenue source for state museums — and more office space. (This location is the headquarters for all U.P. sections of the Michigan state historical museum system.)
For details of occasional special events at the museum, visit http://michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17447_18595_18611---,00.html
Expand your understanding of mining and miners' lives— and see some great mineral specimens — by visiting in Ishpeming Cliffs Shaft Mining Museum and Da Yoopers Tourist Trap.
Clearly signed. From U.S. 41, 3 miles east of Negaunee and 5 or 6 miles west of the outskirts of Marquette, turn south onto M-35 for 1 mile, turn west onto CR 492 for 2 miles, then turn north onto Forge Road. (906) 475-7857. Open daily May thru October, 9:30-4:30. Free admission. Wheelchair-accessible.
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