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NORWAY
POINTS
OF
INTEREST
Piers Gorge. An estraordinary sight created by a dramatically deep gorge of the Menominee River. The water roars for a mile and half ...
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Iron Mountain Iron Mine. Go in a train 400' underground along 2,600' of tunnels to experience mining in this gloomy, dark and drippy setting. See demonstrations of the noisy drilling. ...
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Downtown Norway. Check out specialty shops in the center of this pleasant town: an antique & quilt shop, Northern Expressions with many U.P. products and crafts, and a Scandinavian import shop ...
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Strawberry Lake & Kids' Kingdom Playground. A caved-in mine has turned into a delightful pond with loons, ducks, a fishing platform, playground, picnic area and paved trail circling the lake ...
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Marion Park & Oak Crest Golf Course. A beautiful hillside park with a canopy of majestic oaks, picnic area, playground, volleyball, horseshoe courts. Next to it is a golf course and restaurant ...
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Falls at the paper mill in Niagara, Wisconsin. High buffs along the Menominee River made of massive dark rocks loom over a little mill town ...
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Iron Mountain Iron Mine
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This interesting and dramatic mine tour of the former East Vulcan Mine goes through 2,600 feet of underground drifts and tunnels to give an idea of what iron mining was really like. Visitors don raincoats and hard hats and ride the same railway system that took miners to their jobs, until the mine closed down in 1945. They experience the gloomy, drippy setting of a typical iron mine and also see some pretty things along the way, like a fault of rose quartz. The 35-minute trip offers spectacular views of large manmade mine chambers called stopes.
Drilling demonstrations show how loud, dirty, and dangerous the work was in its earlier years. Before the advent of child labor laws, boys typically started work in the mines at the age of 11. Underground workers often died at 50 or 60 years old, from silicosis, caused by breathing rock dust.
The drama of going underground is what visitors remember about this short, competent tour. It's a nice break for families making the long car trips. The tight schedule doesn't really invite questions. The guide quickly discusses increasingly efficient drills and the tradeoffs they brought. Dangerous working conditions are detailed so frequently that visitors will walk away with a renewed view of the importance of government occupational safety regulations.
Pay records show how little might be earned by mine workers, after deductions for housing, medical, and bills from the company store. It was possible to be in debt after a month of hard work. "Saint Peter, don't you call be, 'cause I can't go. I owe my soul to the company store," in the words of "16 Tons," the 1950s hit song written by Merle Travis and sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford.
The interconnected mines here in Vulcan were among the earliest on the Menominee Range. When first ore was mined here in 1877, the incredibly rich ore was over 70% iron. But it took three men 10 hours to dig just four feet by hand.
The highest-paid miner was the blaster. Each of the Iron Range's many ethnic groups had its own job in the mines. The Cornish and Welsh, experienced in mining operations in Britain, were the bosses, bookkeepers, and engineers. Ethnic groups without mining expertise got the low-skilled jobs. Finns did the timbering — constructing the tamarack supports that held up the horizontal tunnel. Italians were mostly drillers and blasters.
Deep shaft mines like this finally became obsolete when huge power shovels made open-pit mining much more economical.
Wear a sweater or jacket; far underground it stays a constant 43° F. year around. In addition to the train ride, the tour also involves some easy optional walking along smoothed gravel pathways. Electric lights make the mine area seen on the tour far brighter than miners ever experienced. For a short while, visitors are shown just how dark it was in the early days of mining, when candles on miners' lamps provided the only illumination.
Kids and fans of roadside Americana will probably enjoy the tour's commercial trappings. The gift shop has lots of inexpensive rock and mineral samples in addition to souvenirs and regional books. There's a 40' wooden statue of Big John and a freeform sculpture made of pick axes and shovels assembled on a telephone pole. In the parking lot, Jimmy Dean's ode to the heroic miner, "Big Bad John," plays over and over, alternating with Tennessee Ernie and "16 Tons."
People with an interest in mining might also want to tour the Quincy Mine, hoist, and shafthouse in Hancock; the tram ride to the mine tunnel impresses children and adults alike. The Quincy Mining Company was one of Copper Country's two most profitable. The Quincy tour gives a longer overview of mining strategy, techniques, and social history, combined with an engineer's detailed perspective.
On U.S. 2 in Vulcan, 10 miles east of Iron Mountain and 2 miles east of Norway. (906) 563-8077. Open from June 1 to Oct. 15, daily 9-5. 35-40 minute tours. Last tour at 4:15. Call for group, school tours. Adults $9, children 6-12 $7, under 6 free. Wheelchair accessible.
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