GOGEBIC COUNTY HISTORY

LITTLE KNOWN FACTS OF THE GOGEBIC RANGE

COMMUNITY RESOURCES WORKSHOP

AUGUST 8^TH—31^ST, 1966

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

NORTHERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

GOGEBIC COMMUNITY COLLEGE

MR. CARLO HEIKKINEN, DIRECTOR

1. B. AND M. A. DEGREES

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

KATHRYN REARDON

KATHLEEN RUBATT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1

OBJECTIVES-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2

FORWARD--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3

Our Historical Background--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4

The Discovery of the Gogebic Range--------------------------------------------------------------------------5

Gogebic ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6

Ramsay-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6

Bessemer-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6

Ironwood-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6

Marenisco----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6

Wakefield----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6

Erwin Township--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7

Watersmeet--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7

Hurley--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7

Ontonagon---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7

Etienne Brule----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9

Pere Rene Menard-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9

Radisson and Grosseilliers-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9

Transportation Artery through the Area----------------------------------------------------------------------9

Flags of Three Nations------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------9

Early Report of Iron Ore Deposits by Dr. A. Randall-----------------------------------------------------10

The Creation of Ontonagon County--------------------------------------------------------------------------10

The Division of Ontonagon County--------------------------------------------------------------------------10

The First Highway in Gogebic County----------------------------------------------------------------------11

Ancient Greenstone Rocks------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11

Richard Langford-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12

James Wood-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13

Soloman S. Curry-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------14

The "Hayes Brothers"------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15

1. Lanfear Norrie---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16

John Munro Longyear-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16

Records of Early Discoveries of Copper----------------------------------------------------------------------17

William Witter Spalding---Early Ontonagon Pioneer-------------------------------------------------------19

90^th Meridian Marker--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------19

Keystone Bridge-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------20

Old Dugout Canoe-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------20

Smallest Catholic Chapel in the United States---------------------------------------------------------------21

Mount Zion--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------21

Lac Vieux Desert-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------22

St. James Hotel---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------22

Little girl’s Point-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------22

The American Elm-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------23

Last Stagecoach Robbery (Lake Gogebic)--------------------------------------------------------------------23

Gogebic Iron Range Historical Marker------------------------------------------------------------------------24

Recently Discovered Stones (John Key and Whith)---------------------------------------------------------24

I

First Mayor of Ironwood----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------25

First Hotel in Ironwood-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------26

The Ironwood Fire-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------26

Style of First Firemen’s Uniforms-----------------------------------------------------------------------------26

Ironwood’s First Brick Building-------------------------------------------------------------------------------27

United States Post Office, Ironwood, Michigan-------------------------------------------------------------27

The Land on Which Ironwood was Built---------------------------------------------------------------------27

Ironwood goes from Village to City---------------------------------------------------------------------------28

Ironwood’s First Street Car Line-------------------------------------------------------------------------------28

A Sewage System Installed in Ironwood----------------------------------------------------------------------28

Ironwood’s First Electric Lighting System-------------------------------------------------------------------28

Early Train Service----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------29

Early Home Builders in Ironwood-----------------------------------------------------------------------------29

Early Businessmen in Ironwood-------------------------------------------------------------------------------29

The first Daily Newspaper--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------29

First Schoolhouse in Ironwood---------------------------------------------------------------------------------30

WJMS Radio Station--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------30

First Mayor of Hurley-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------31

The Boy Who Started It All------------------------------------------------------------------------------------31

First Butcher Shop-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------31

Hurley’s First Hotel---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------31

The Oldest Bank on the Gogebic Range----------------------------------------------------------------------32

Hurley’s Fires-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------32

The Burton House------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------32

First Hotel---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------34

They Came by Twos---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------34

Earliest Settlers---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------34

Bessemer Becomes the County Seat in 1887-----------------------------------------------------------------34

Early Buildings in Bessemer------------------------------------------------------------------------------------35

Mining--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------35

Population in 1888------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------35

Early Railroad to Bessemer--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------36

Sunday Lake Mine------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------36

The First Building in Wakefield--------------------------------------------------------------------------------36

First Mines in Wakefield-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------36

Dates to Remember-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------37

Wakefield Firsts --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------37

"Silver and Gold Discoveries"----------------------------------------------------------------------------------37

First Sawmills in Marenisco-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------38

The Beginning of Marenisco------------------------------------------------------------------------------------38

Martin J. Gillen----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------38

Little Known Facts of the Early Cooperative Extension Work in Gogebic County, by Mr. C. E.

Gunderson--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------39

History of the Ottawa National Forest-------------------------------------------------------------------------40

The Early History of the Ottawa National Forest------------------------------------------------------------40

1. Explorers and Missionaries---------------------------------------------------------------------40
2. Fur Trading----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------41
3. Mining---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------41
4. Lumbering-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------41
5. Sylvania--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------42

First 20 members of the Gogebic Range Hall of Fame-------------------------------------------------------43

Athletic Events-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------45

1. Basketball-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------43
2. Track-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------44
3. Football----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------44
4. Skiing------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------44

Pictures---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes About the Compilers----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------46

Bibliography---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------46

We would like to express our appreciation for the valuable information, personal insight, and

interest received from Victor F. Lemmer, of Ironwood, Michigan, Past President of The Historical Society

of Michigan, without whose aid this project would not have been compiled.

In 1955, Mr. Lemmer was the recipient of an "AWARD OF MERIT" from the American

Association for State and Local History at its annual meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia.

1. To learn to use our community resources to the fullest advantage.

2. To create an awareness and stimulate the citizenry of the Gogebic Range about the little known facts of this area.

3. To arouse public interest in the historical contributions of the early settlers, voyageurs, and missionaries who had confidence in the future in making our Gogebic Range what it is today.

4. To acquaint the public with the location of the geographical and historical points of interest that have enriched our heritage, and instilled a spirit of appreciation.

We, Kathleen S. Rubatt and Kathryn M. Reardon, the compilers of this thesis, wish to state that we were cautioned to keep in mind that professional historians may not agree entirely with our interpretations of these historical facts and the origin of names. Constructive criticism will be welcomed by us. We also realize that this is far from complete, but it is hoped that this historical record will serve as an incentive to other students of history.

LITTLE KNOWN FACTS OF THE GOGEBIC RANGE

*OUR HISTORICAL BACKGROUND*

Some of the historical background of the northern area of the United States is of great interest.Although the northern boundary of the United States was not definitely fixed until the Webster-AshburtonTreaty of 1842, its rough location was described in the Treaty of Paris of 1783 between Great Britain andthe newly freed colonies. Benjamin Franklin was one of the commissioners sent to Paris to negotiate the treaty. It had been decided that the boundary between the United States and Canada should go through Lake of the Woods. According to the only map available to the commissioners, as drawn by John Mitchell in 1775, water from Lake of the Woods flowed into Lake Superior though the Pigeon River. Therefore, it was decided to make this water course the boundary—a decision for which Franklin was at least partly responsible. Some years later it was discovered that the Pigeon River went back only 30 miles from Lake Superior and that all the water north and west of the point flowed toward Hudson Bay. If the commissioners had known the truth, they would no doubt have made the boundary the St. Louis River, with its mouth at the extreme western tip of Lake Superior, rather than the Pigeon River.

We are told that Franklin was familiar with the writings of the Jesuit fathers and knew about reports of copper being found on Isle Royale. Also, the Pigeon River was, of course, the headquarters for the great fur trading depots, and was known as such to the British commissioners, who had never heard of the St. Louis River. Franklin was then able to bend the boundary line around Isle Royale and bring it to the mouth of the Pigeon River instead of allowing it to follow its natural course of coming on the south side of Isle Royale to the St. Louis River, which was undoubtedly the end of Lake Superior, as the French name Fond du Lac indicates. If Franklin had not been so wise, all the rich iron ore territory in Minnesota, as well as the states of North and South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Oregon would never have become a part of the United States.

**Due to the importance of this data and to make certain of the accuracy, we have secured, with permission, this information which appears in skillings’ Mining Review of July 2, 1960.

As has always been the case, the story of the Gogebic Range is a combination of hard and patient research, mixed with the glamour of accidental discovery. It was in the year 1871 that Prof. Raphael Pumpelly of Harvard University, who is said to be the first professionally trained mining engineer in the United States, discovered iron ore in what is now called Gogebic County. Pumpelly wrote in his "Reminiscences" that he came to this iron range by sailboat starting from Marquette, Michigan, to Bayfield, Wisconsin, and then across the bay to the mouth of the Montreal River, in the vicinity of Little Girl’s Point. It was at this spot with the aid of  guides that Pumpelly, his wife, a French voyageur and his  wife, journeyed 20 miles south by land along the Montreal River to the site in Ironwood near the now abandoned gas plant. After establishing camp in tents, Pumpelly left the trail and climbed what we now call Newport hill in Ironwood. While resting, and as he said, "thinking," he noticed the yellow stains in the rock. This discovery of Pumpelly’s is a story in itself, but suffice it to say that he and his financial backers purchased two miles of this information, which in later years became the site of the Newport and Geneva iron mines.

**The County of Gogebic was named after Lake Gogebic.  called the lake, "AGOGEBIC", because in their  language the word meant, "A Body of Water Hanging on High." They knew that the lake had a high elevation, which was caused by the glaciers centuries ago. In other words, Lake Gogebic is 1,290.81 feet above sea level, but when the water reaches Lake Superior, the lake level is only 602 feet above sea level. The exact definition of "Gogebic" will never be known, as it all depends on the interpreter. The popular meaning, used for the purpose of tourism is "Where Trout Rising Make Rings on the Water." Research by historians has not been able to determine how and when and why "Agogebic" was changed to "Gogebic." A satisfactory conclusion is that a printer either purposely or accidentally dropped the "A" during a printing job.

**"Ramsay", the town in Bessemer Township, was named for Sir William Ramsay, a Scotch chemist born at Glasgow, Scotland. He won his chief reputation for his discovery of rare gases. He was awarded the Nobel prize in chemistry. His discoveries are a major factor in the iron ore processes.

**"Bessemer" was named for Sir Henry Bessemer, the English inventor of the process of manufacturing malleable iron and steel without fuel.

**"Ironwood" was named for James "Iron" Wood. He was the discoverer of the Norrie Mine at Ironwood, exposing for the holder of the lease, A. L. Norrie, what turned out to be one of the greatest bodies of high grade ore ever to be found in Michigan.

**"Marenisco" township derived its name from one of its pioneers, namely Mary Enid Scott, the wife of the founder. It will be noted that the first three letters in each name are used to spell "Marenisco."

**"Wakefield" was named after George M. Wakefield, a financier of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who came to this area in the pioneering days. In 1881, George M. Wakefield was the secretary-treasurer of the "Ontonagon River Improvement and Boom Company", which built a number of dams and blasted rock in the Ontonagon River to float logs to the sawmills.

**James s. Monroe, An Ironwood Attorney, gave the name to "Erwin" Township. He named the township "Erwin" by taking the middle name of Donald Erwin Sutherland, who was at that time, the mayor of Ironwood and also the superintendent of the Oliver Iron Mining Company.

**The name of the township of "Watersmeet" was derived from the two words, "waters" and "meet". A number of waters actually meet there, and it is interesting to note that in the Watersmeet area the Ontonagon River flows north into Lake Superior, the Wisconsin River flows south into the Mississippi River, and the Paint River flows east into Lake Michigan. Also, the town is the meeting place of the water of Duke Creek, flowing north, and the Ontonagon River flowing east and north.

**The town of Hurley, Wisconsin took its name from Mr. M. A. Hurley, a prominent attorney of Wausau who won a lawsuit for the Northern Chief Iron Company in 1884. The compensation for winning the suit was that he asked for no fee, but only requested that the town involved in the case is named after him. The full name "Glen Hurley" was used for one year, but in 1885, the first name was dropped and the community became known as Hurley

**The following is Father Gagnieur’s statement about the name of "Ontonagon": "Let us imagine ourselves now on the famous Ontonagon River that flows into Lake Superior. This name is interesting. It appears in the old relations of 1660 as Nantounaganing. The river is famous more particularly for its copper mines and especially for one enormous mass of pure copper. Let us say here it Nintonaganing. When and where and by whom it was changed into Ontonagon, will, I suppose, never by known. Nintonaganing means " the place of my dish," the legend (according to Bishop Baraga who wrote forty-years ago) being that a squaw washing her dish or bowl either dropped it into the river or the current carried it away, and she exclaimed, "Nia! Nind Onagan! Nind Onagan! --- "Oh! My dish! My dish! Ontonagon would mean "her dish" --- hence maybe Nintogon. Yet one writer does not blush to say Ontonagon means "fishing place," and another, "place of the other wooden bowl," viz. "onto" place, "nagon" --- wooden bowl! Father Verwyst, O. F. M., says that Mr. Antoine Gandin (or Gordon --- traces the word Ontonagon to  Nandonagoining, or "place where game is shot by guess,’ i.e. by not seeing it but judging of its location by some noise or movement in the brush. Father Verwyst says that in maps of the 17^th Century it is called Nantonagon (and we saw above, that the Relations call it Nantounaganing, and Father Verwyst prefers this derivation to Bishop Baraga’s legend. When then did Nantonaganing become Nintonaganing? One map gives the spelling, Riviere de Tonnaganne.

*ETIENNE BRULE*

In 1618, Etienne Brule became the first white man to see the greatest of fresh water lakes and paddle a bark canoe along the shores of Lake Superior.

*PIONEERS OF PIONEERS*

Pere Rene Menard, a missionary, was our pioneer of pioneers in the area known as the County of Gogebic. Although this area became an official county in 1887, it is interesting to know that history proves that Pere Rene Menard was here 226 years before that time or in the year of 1661. Father Menard conducted religious services at Lac Vieux Dessert in the Township of Watersmeet 295 years ago.

*RADISSON – GROSEILLIERL EXPLORE LAKE SUPERIOR*

The first white men to leave us an account of their explorations were Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Menard Chouart des Groseilliers who made the first of four trips to Lake Superior in 1654. These travelers probably camped over-night at the historic over-night camping grounds .

*MOST IMPORTANT TRANSPORTATION ARTERY THROUGH AREA*

The most important artery for transportation of goods through Gogebic County in the days of the fur trade was the Montreal River portage extending from Lake Superior to Lac du Flambeau. The name of this river appears on the oldest map ever made of Lake Superior. This was made in 1669 by Fathers Claude Allouez and James Marquette, missionaries who followed in the footsteps of Pere Rene Menard.

*FLAGS OF THREE NATIONS*

The city of Ironwood, Michigan was named for James wood. Prominent in the iron ore industry, he was the discoverer of the Norrie Mine at Ironwood and exposed for the holder of the lease, A. L. Norrie, what became one of the greater bodies of iron ore ever found in Michigan.

The "Wood" in Ironwood came from James Wood’s name. In 1885 while the railroad was being completed, it was learned that this town did not have a name. James Wood was sent for by the president of the railroad, Mr. Rhinelander, and as Wood was observed coming down the trail it was noticed that his hands were covered with the stain of the Norrie hematite iron ore. It was then decided to christen the new town "Iron-wood." The hyphen was later dropped, and the name was changed to Ironwood.

On April 28, 1958, the Ironwood City Commission approved the name of the James Wood Park, located in the heart of Ironwood. This park in his memory was dedicated in the same year.

 Curry has been identified with Ironwood during the whole of its existence. Indeed, he is one of its founders, and much of the town was laid by him.

Mr. Curry was born on June 12, 1839, in Lancaster, Ontario. He attended the schools of that area and at the age of 20, he worked as an apprentice in a blacksmith shop and learned that trade.

In his early life, he lived in Marquette and Ishpeming. During this time Mr. Curry was very active in explorations being made in the Lake Superior region.

When he was forty years old, he became the president of the Iron and Land Company. In 1885 this company acquired the Norrie Mine at Ironwood from A. Lanfear Norrie and began operating that property as well as the East Norrie mine and later the Pabst, Davis, and puritan mines.

He made his home in Ironwood until after the mines which he was interested in were sold to other interests. While in Ironwood, he was the first president of the First National Bank of Ironwood. Mr. Curry also established the People’s Bank of which he was the first president. Among his contributions, he gave to Ironwood, the first American flag it ever owned, and made a speech on the occasion in 1892.

Mr. Curry died at Ironwood, Michigan, July 29,1929. A number of his descendents are still living. There is a beautiful Monument erected on the Curry family plot at the Ironwood Riverside Cemetery.

he "Hayes Brothers", J.O. Hayes and E. A. Hayes, owned the lease for many years on the Ashland Mine at Ironwood, Michigan. The Ashland Mine was opened in 1884. Prior to 1913 it was operated by the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company; later by the Hayes Mining Company. The Hayes Brothers were known as the "prune kings" from California where they were fruit ranch operators. They also published a newspaper at San Jose, California. In iron ore mining, they relied on their mine captain, Robert King at Ironwood. Captain King was the father-in-law of Attorney William Cloon of Ironwood.

J.O. Hays looked like, and acted like "Prince Albert". E. A. Hayes was at one time a Congressman from California.

The mother of the Hayes Brothers was a spiritualist. The Hayes family originated its own religious belief, and called it the "True Life" cult. At times Mrs. Hayes, through her spiritualism, would decide on the direction her sons should take to discover the iron ore. Sometimes she made guesses, but eventually her luck and money played out.

RECORDS OF EARLY DISCOVERIES OF COPPER

**Largest single movable piece of metallic copper ever found in the world…a three-ton mass of pure copper…was discovered in Michigan in 1667, in Ontonagon County, and removed in 1857…Since 1858 it has been on display in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington…The irregularly shaped boulder measures: roughly 4 feet 3 inches by 3 feet 11 inches and is about18 inches thick.

**The existence of native copper on the shore of Lake Superior was first published to he world in a book by M. Lagarde, issued in Paris, France, in 1636.

**The missionary, Father Claude Allouez, was perhaps the first white man who saw copper along the shore of Lake Superior. Soon thereafter, missions were established by Father Marquette and Father Menard.

**During the winter of 1771-1772, an Englishman by the name of Alexander Henry, read in a book published in London in 1770, about the native copper of Lake Superior. He organized a party of English miners, and they came to the Ontonagon River and explored for copper on the property, which later became the Victoria Mine. The spring rains caused the caving of the mine exploration, and no further attempts at copper mining were made for seventy years.

**In 1830, Dr. Douglas Houghton made the first scientific survey of the Upper Peninsula. One of the first miners to reach the copper fields was Jim Paul, a backwoodsman who came in the month of March (1843). He founded the town of Ontonagon.

**The next notation of Lake Superior copper deposits is found in the books of the Jesuit missionaries for 1659 and 1660.

**Taken from "The Copper Handbook," Volume X 1911, by Horace J. Stevens, page 190:

"The first wireless telegraphy was done in Ontonagon County, Michigan, Ayers Stockley, shortly after the laying of the first successful Atlantic cable in1866. Ayers Stockley (also spelled Ayres Stockly) used crude homemade apparatus, but succeeded in transmitting telegraphic messages correctly, for a distance of nine miles, by utilizing the magnetic earth currents traversing the cupriferous strata."

Original historic documents still available indicate that Ayer Stockley was in Ontonagon county in 1868, as he signed a petition on March 7, 1867, relating to the building of the Military Road. Efforts have been made to establish the truth of the claim that Stockley sent the first wireless message; no official governmental agency has yet been able to prove the contrary. Consequently, unless something now unknown is disclosed, Ayers Stockley successfully experimented with wireless seven years before Marconi was born. The later inventor did not come to the United States until 1899.

The handwritten diary of William Witter Spalding, one of Ontonagon’s pioneers, is preserved at the University of Michigan, through the courtesy of Roy L. Muskatt, who lives in Ontonagon. Spalding, a Pennsylvanian who had moved to Illinois in 1836, engaged in leading mining in northwestern Illinois and southwestern Wisconsin in 1844-1845. Hearing of rich deposits of virgin copper in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, in the spring of 1845, he and his uncle, Daniel S. Cash, and two other partners set out by steamboat and canoe for the Lake Superior country. At this time Spalding was 25 years old. The diary contains many interesting entries. On July 4, 1846, they had a celebration on the banks of the Iron River. There was a patriotic address, and Spalding read the Declaration of Independence. Later in the day he "went to the Ontonagon just at night in a sailboat run down in two hours."

In June of 1848, Spalding said in his diary that he discovered a large mass of native copper weighing about six tons in the bottom of an old shaft four feet under the surface of the earth. He said, "The mass of copper has been hammered all over with round small boulders which the ancient miners had used for sledges or hammers, plenty of which were found having a ring around the center, beat in to keep the handles which were wound around them in their place. There was also a copper chisel with a socket found and a copper spike. There is positive proof of the same vein and two or three other veins near by having been worked for nearly a mile in length, not to any great depth, but mostly along the surface of the veins. There is no account or tradition of when or by whom it was done. All the indications show that is must have been in very ancient times."

The brass so-called "bench mark" was raised by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. This marker indicates that Ramsay in Gogebic County is exactly one quarter of the distance around the world from Greenwich, England. It is located at the east end of the bridge just south of the railing.

Geographically speaking, this is the location of the 90^th meridian west of Greenwich, being 46 degrees, 28 minutes, 2778 seconds north latitude. In other words, it is nearly one and a half degrees north

of the point halfway between the equator and the North Pole. This 90^th meridian is the center of the Central Standard Time Zone.

The one-arch railroad bridge in the Black River at Ramsay in Bessemer Township, near the Bessemer Township Park, is considered by many historians as one of the most beautiful of its kind in the world. One of the stones in this bridge is the "keystone" which serves as the vital spot around which the arch is constructed. The keystone of the arch is the last stone set and ties the two other sections together, helping to equalize the pressure on all sides of the arch. The official designation of the bridge by the railroad is Bridge No. 1111. It is a 45-foot by 44-foot stone arch structure, 57 feet from the rail to flow line. The bridge was constructed in 1891 of limestone quarried at Kaukauna, Wisconsin, at a cost of $48,322.00. The foundation of the bridge is on solid rock. There are only three other bridges of its kind on the United States.

In recent years there was discovered in "Thousand Island" Lake in Watersmeet Township and dugout canoe, which measures 32 feet 6 inches high. Authorities on  life are of the opinion that  built this white pine canoe, made from one log, by putting it up on some kind of saw horses. They then built a fire with a concentrated flame under the log. No doubt, the women chopped away at the charcoal resulting from the fire, while the men did the hunting and the trapping. It is estimated that approximately twenty People could ride in the dugout canoe. It is on exhibition at the Jay Shifra Resort on Thousand Island Lake. Some historians believe that this  dugout canoe is one of the last to be discovered in America.

In 1931, Dr. Carl E. Guthe of the University of Michigan found two mounds on the Lake Gogebic property of William Bonifas, whose property later became known as the "500-Bushal Club" and is now know as Villa St. Thomas. Each mound contained several burials, which had been disturbed and were difficult to interpret. There were also discovered a handful of pieces of pottery made of baked clay, copper tools, and bone and antler tools. Some of these items were, no doubt, the  grave offerings to the dead, as these mounds were definitely mortuary mounds.

Gogebic County claims to have the smallest complete Catholic Chapel in the United States used exclusively for religious services. Efforts have been made by historians to locate a smaller chapel in the United States, but so far no one has been able to report one for any religious denomination. The Catholic chapel is known as St. Raphael Chapel, and it is located on the property of the Kinsella Estate of Milwaukee, which is situated on Langford Lake in Watersmeet Township in Gogebic County. The chapel was erected for a former president of Marquette University, namely Reverend Raphael McCarthy of the Society of Jesus. The chapel was built in 1937. It is 12 feet long, 8 feet 3 inches wide, and the height at the eaves is 7 feet 6 inches. There is one window on each side of the chapel and one window in the rear. There are pews for five people, and the seats have attached kneelers. The priest’s vestments, the Stations of the Cross, and all the other essentials are available for complete Catholic services. This is a private property and is not available to the public.

Mount Zion derived its name as a result of a suggestion made by one of the pioneer clergymen, affectionately known as Father Kehoe. His recreation consisted of horseback riding on a trail, which took him to the top of the hill. He always said that the journey reminded him of the biblical "Mount Zion." This hill is the highest in Ironwood. It is also known as "the grandfather of ski hills in the Upper Peninsula." The first rope tows in the Upper Peninsula were established there in 1937.

An interesting short side trip may be made from Watersmeet by traveling south on U.S. Highway 45 to the Lac Vieux Desert Road where you turn at Camp Plagens and travel east until you come to an old logging locomotive where you turn south 2 and a half miles to the Lac Viex Desert. This is an old  Settlement, the original grants of land being made by Abraham Lincoln. 

While gathered together one evening at home of the builders of a new hotel on Suffolk St. in Ironwood, the owners were deciding upon a name for the hotel. They each put a name in a hat and agreed that whichever name was drawn from this hat would be the new name for the hotel. A Catholic priest was among this group of people. He put in the name of Saint James. His choice was drawn and thus we now have the St. James Hotel.

Little Girl’s Point, on Lake Superior in Ironwood Township, received its name from a story written by Henry R. Schoolcraft entitled "Leelinau or the Lost Daughter, an Odjibwa (Chippwa) Tale." Laalinau was the daughter of a hunter who lived near the base of the lofty highlands, "The Crouching Porcupines." Tradition has it that Leelinau disappeared at this point, now known as "Little Girls Point." The cemetery where it is believed that Leelinau is buried was restored in 1954. Visitors can locate the cemetery very conveniently near Omen’s Creek, as the trail to the cemetery has been marked.

If Christopher Columbus came to Gogebic County today, he would find in Ironwood Township an American Elm tree, which was growing here in 1492. Though this tree has been struck by lightning, the trunk still remains. Forestry experts who made scientific borings determined the approximate age of the tree. The circumference of the tree is 237 inches, that is, at 4 and a half feet above the base; this American elm is 19 feet 9inches around. The diameter is 6 feet 4 inches. The tree is, of course even much larger at the base; that is, the circumference is 28 feet 2 inches. This American elm in Ironwood Township is located about 6 miles north from Ironwood on the Lake Road toward little girl’s Point. It is on the west side of the road about a fourth of a mile off the Highway.

On August 26, 1889,  the Gogebic Stagecoach Robbery occurred on the old highway between Gogebic Station and Lake Gogebic. The name of the hold up man and murderer was Reimund Holzey, the celebrated bandit and generally known as "bad man" who gave his residence as Marenisco, Michigan. The entire circuit court proceedings are in the records of Gogebic County at Bessemer, Michigan. The documents of the case are known as Gogebic County Circuit Court File No. 488. This stage coach robbery is considered as the last one in the Great Northwest, and perhaps in the United States. Reimund Holzey was given a life sentence in Marquette Prison. He was paroled in 1914 and worked in Marquette County. On September 24^th, 1952, Holzey committed suicide at his home in Florida, at age 86.

On May 7, 1958, an official Michigan historical marker was dedicated east of the city of Bessemer, in the state park along Memory Lane. The marker is entitled "Gogebic Iron Range" and it contains a map of the important mines of the range as well as a historical text, which reads as follows:

"The Gogebic was the last of the three great iron ore fields opened in the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin. Beginning in 1848 with Dr. A. Randall, federal and state geologists had mapped the ore formations almost perfectly long before any ore was mined. One geologist, Raphael Pumpelly, on the basis of his studies in 1871, picked out lands for purchase which years later became the sites of the Newport and Geneva mines. The first mine to go into production was Colby. In 1884 it shipped 1,022 tons of iron ore in railroad flat cars to Milwaukee. By 1890 more than thirty mines had shipped ore from this range. Many quickly ran out of good ore and had to close. Others took their places as richer ore bodies were found. Virtually all mining here has been underground as attested by many shafts and "cave-ins". The soft hematite ores common on this range usually have been sent in ore cars to Ashland and Escanaba, there to be loaded into ore boats and taken to America’s steel mills."

In 1962, there were discovered two stones about 100 feet more or less from the shore at Lake Gogebic State Park. One stone is inscribed, "1822 John Key". About 16 feet away from it, is another stone, on which it is inscribed "1824 Whith". Through much research it was discovered that John Key was a passenger in His Majesty’s Sloop, the Welcome, July 29, 1780. During the Revolutionary war, the Welcome, like other merchant ships, was taken over by the British government. It was used mainly as a supply ship between Detroit and Mackinac. No further information about the stone-inscribed "1824 Whith" has been found.

Trail marker trees are revered as living landmarks of our pioneer past in the Gogebic County.

It is believed that the Chippewa deformed these trees for trail markers by bending young saplings to point out a new route. They were used for the purpose of finding new hunting grounds or for a war party to find another’s campsite or the enemy.

Mr. Charles Wester has found and marked fifteen of these trees in Gogebic County.

The statue of Hiawatha, erected in June, 1964, is located in downtown Ironwood. It is constructed of fiberglass and is 52 feet tall. Towering over the City of Ironwood by 150 feet, it will withstand winds of 140 miles per hour. The cost of this immense statue was $10,000.

According to legend, Hiawatha was a Peacemaker, Preacher, and Prophet. He was supposedly a resident of this area. It is said that he lived between 1475 and 1550.

Captain William Trebilcock was the first mayor of the city of Ironwood. His salary was $25.00 a year.

The first hotel in Ironwood was built and operated by P. R. Walker. It was called the walker House. This hotel was located in the downtown district on Lowell Street.

Ironwood had passed through speculative frenzies and hard times, and on the 17^th of September 1887, it was swept by a disastrous fire, which leveled nearly all of the business part of the city.

Taken from the minutes of the meeting of the Ironwood fire department

Company 1 held in the council rooms on Monday night, December 10, 1887:

"Moved and seconded that the style of uniform be—shirt blue with white trimming and initials

I. F.D to ornament breast, belt to be red, with name of company to be placed on a white ground of leather in brass letters on back of each belt. Cap to be white-duck with brass wreath and figure 1 on front of each."

H. J. Erbelding (Sec.)

Minutes of the meeting on December 13, 1887:

"Moved and seconded that committee of three be appointed to collect names of members willing to pay $6.00 each for uniform on arrival at the Express Office.

H. J. Erbelding (Sec.)

The first solid brick building in Ironwood was the Lieberthal Building constructed in 1887.   It is located on the corner of Suffolk Street and McLeod Avenue.

The Post Office in Ironwood, Michigan was established on January 22, 1886. At that time, Gogebic County was part of Ontonagon County. Gogebic County was organized on February 7, 1887.

A post office was established in Jessieville on February 7, 1887. Two postmasters served in that office. They were Mary L. Downs and Charles Anderson. It was discontinued on June 12, 1891. The first postmaster of the United States Post Office was George F. Kelly.

The land on which Ironwood was built was owned by the Milwaukee Lake Shore and Western Railway Company. The agent for the railroad company sold the first lots in Ironwood. He was William L. Pierce, who later built and operated Ironwood’s first opera house. The first streets to be opened and cleared of trees were named Ayer, Suffolk, Aurora, and Vaughn. These names are retained to this day.

IRONWOOD GOES FROM VILLAGE TO CITY

The growth of the village of Ironwood was so rapid that in 1888, the citizens realized the necessity for better government. Consequently, the legislative was petitioned to incorporate the village as a city. It was not, however, until April 8, 1889 that the legislature finally granted the petition, and the governor’s signature was received on that date. Ironwood then began to function under the aldermanic form of government. The first election under the city charter was held on April 24, 1889. The total vote cast was 1,266 and Nathaniel Hibbert was elected mayor.

It was in 1890 that the Gogebic Electric Railway and Light Company was organized, and a street car line of four miles was built. This line gave service to Ironwood, Jessieville, and as far as Hurley and Gile on the Wisconsin side.

In September of 1889, the citizens of Ironwood voted to construct the first main sewers in the city. The contract was given to Peter Meegan to construct a sewer from Vaughn Street on Suffolk Street to Ayer Street and west on Ayer Street to the Montreal River.

In 1889, permission was granted to A. L. Dickman, J. D. Day, and G. K. Newcomb to build an electric lighting system in Ironwood.

During the year, 1889, through train service began over the Chicago and Northwestern from Ironwood to Milwaukee and Chicago.

The first homebuilders in Ironwood were J. D. Day, Thomas Haigan, Matt Fitzsimmons, and Luther L. Wright. The high school in Ironwood is named after Mr. Wright.

Among the first businessmen were A. Lieberthal, Hoxie and Mellor, P. O’Neill, William Rothchilds, L. J. Laughren. Mueen and Kent, and Walter S. Goodland, founder of "The Ironwood Times."

Ironwood supported several weekly newspapers printed in the English and Scandinavian languages, also one daily paper written in English. The Gogebic Range Directory of 1892 states that the "Daily Advocate" was the first daily paper printed on the Gogebic Range. Published by the Gogebic Publishing Company, this paper sold for $0.15 a week.

The first weekly paper, no doubt, was "The Gogebic Explorer," the first issue of which is dated June 4, 1885, Bessemer, Michigan. All the issues for the first year are in a private collection in Ironwood.

According to the May 8, 1959, edition of the "Ironwood Daily Globe" an old building on Vaughn Street, just west of Suffolk Street, was Ironwood’s first school building. The "Globe" received this information from old timers living in Ironwood. Records do not show when it was used as a school, but it is believed to have been in the first years of Ironwood, probably between 1887 and 1890. It was used as a dwelling for many years.

The first efforts to secure a license for a radio station in Ironwood began in 1927. These efforts came about as a result of experiments with a homemade transmitter of 1420 kilocycles.

After much strife, a construction permit was secured in July 1931. The station was approved for operation on a 1420 kilocycle transmitter on November 3^rd of the same year. At that time everything was housed in the St. James Hotel. Three years later in 1934, the transmitter was moved to U. S. Highway 2, midway between Douglas Boulevard and Greenbush Street. A new tower was located here, and the number of watts was increased from 100 to 250. At this time, the radio station was in operation from sunrise to sunset.

In 1947, WJMS was successful in securing an increase in power to 1000 watts at a frequency of 630 kilocycles.

The letters JMS in WJMS stand for Johnson Music Store. The letter "W" is as arbritary prefix which stands for any station operating east of the Mississippi river and north and south of the Mason-Dixon Line were given the arbritary prefix "k".

Before the establishment of WJMS, John Kluck set up a 50watt transmitter in 1923. This station was in operation for only a few months, and it operated without a license.

Mr. Henry Meade was the first mayor of Hurley, Wisconsin.

John Ankers, started Hurley’s first saloon. He was also Hurley’s first town clerk, the first Justice of the Peace, and the first chief of the fire-fighting organization. He was, therefore, a very active individual. After all those firsts, he retired and became the local agent for the Pabst Brewing Company.

The first hotel was located at the corner of Second Avenue and Silver Street in a log building. Mr. James Guest was the first landlord. It was far from a pretentious affair but answered the purpose and furnished food and shelter for many a hardy pioneer and miner in its day.

The first meat market in Hurley was kept by Ilsey and Knox and was opened in 1885.

The Iron Exchange Bank of Hurley, was the oldest bank of the Gogebic Range. It was organized November 26, 1885. In 1925 it celebrated its 40^th anniversary, and at that time, it had withstood all depressions.

Dr. J.C. Renolds, the bank’s first president, and his brother, W. S. Renolds, the bank’s first cashier, were the prime movers in the organization of the institution. Associated with them in the organization were John E. Burton, Alvin E. Tyler, Edward Ryan, Nathaniel J. Moore, James A. Wood, and Shepherd Homans, all men prominent in the mining industry here in the early days.

The Gogebic Range Directory of 1888 states: "During the past summer, Hurley was twice visited by terrible fires. The first occurred of June 28^th and the second on July 9^th. These destroyed almost the entire business portion of the city, and at first it was thought that they would prove a crushing blow to its prosperity, but later events have proven that they were blessings in disguise. The wonderful pluck and energy of its businessmen were fully demonstrated when they at once began the erection of fine brick buildings in the place of the wooden ones destroyed. The result has been that the burned portion has been rebuilt with brick and stone, making them nearly fireproof. And Silver Street is on that a much larger city could well be proud of.

The Burton Hotel was an immense four-story frame hostelry, which was a famous gathering place for thousands in the later part of the 19^th century. John E. Burton, a mining speculator, who made millions of dollars through his wild ventures and later established offices in New York City and bought up other vast mining interests in Mexico and South America, put up the building in 1865. His original wealth, however, came from the iron range.

The Burton Hotel contained 100 rooms, a ballroom, dining room, café, and clubrooms, all highly decorated and furnished with the best of the wood workers’ art of the time, and equipped with the best furniture. Th Burton Hotel cost $35,000, and the furniture cost Mr. Burton $10,000.

Many noteworthy people stayed at the Burton House. Grover Cleveland registered at the Burton House Saturday, October 5, 1889. At this time he had already served one term as president of the United States. In 1889when he was in Hurley, he was a New York Lawyer. He was elected to the presidency again in 1892.

The Gogebic Range Directory of 1888 advertised the Burton House in this way:

BURTON HOUSE

HURLEY, WISCONSIN

__________________________

HEATED BY STEAM

AND LIGHTED WITH

INCANDESCENT ELECTRIC LIGHT

__________________________

ONE HUNDRED ROOMS

WITH

ELECTRIC BELLS

AND

WARM AND COLD WATER

__________________________

E.K. TARBELL, PROPRIETOR

The first hotel erected in the city of Bessemer was the C. D. F. Hotel. This hotel was named after C. D. Fournier, one of the early Pioneers of Bessemer.

In 1888, there were two newspapers, the Pick and Axe, and The Spirit: and two railroads, the Milwaukee Lake Shore & Western, and the Wisconsin Central.

Among the earliest settlers were P.H. Dolan, boarding house; Jeffres & Mickleson, hardware and general store; Ehrmanntraut Bros., meat market; Jesmer & Long, Colby House; and Frank Hiffing,

L. E. E. Pope, and C. D. Fournier.

The first meeting of the Gogebic County Board of Supervisors was held in April of 1887. As much as there was no county court house building, the offices and meeting places were on the second story of the new Home Block in the city on Bessemer. Eventually, in 1888, a courthouse and a jail were built out of Lake Superior brownstone. The courthouse was enlarged in 1915, and the same structure is still in daily use by the county officers and supervisors. A new jail was completed on May 8, 1965.

Taken from the Director of the Gogebic Range 1888

"A beautiful High School building has been erected on the slope of Colby Hill, costing $10,000.00 and will accommodate from 300 to 400 children. A substantial brick city hall building has been erected the past summer, the first floor of which will be used by the fire department and the second for city purposes."

"The mineral resources surrounding the places are inexhaustible. The largest mine on the Gogebic Range is still situated almost within the limits of the town. The Colby was the first mine discovered on the range, has a north and south vein with the largest deposit of ore yet found, being in the aggregate 250 feet wide. Six hundred thousand tons of ore have already been taken out of this mine, and there is not the slightest evidence of any contraction of the deposit."

The population of Bessemer, Michigan in 1888 was 5, 876.

Taken from the History of the Ottawa National Forest

"In 1883, the Chicago and Northwestern Railway reached Watersmeet and with the discovery of ore in the western part of Gogebic County decided to extend its line west to Bessemer rather than north to Ontonagon. The railroad reached Bessemer in the summer of 1884."

The Sunday Lake Mine was discovered by George A. Fay in 1881-1882.

The first building to be erected in Wakefield was built by Herman Nunnemacher, of Milwaukee, and was occupied by the Day brothers as a saloon.

The first mines in Wakefield were the Sunday Lake, Iron Chief, and the Brotherton. According to the Gogebic Range Directory of 1888, the output of these mines in 1886 was as follows: Sunday Lake, 13,00 tons; Iron Chief, 9,584 tons, and the Brotherton, about 3,500 tons.

Wakefield, Michigan, was incorporated as a village by the Gogebic County Board of Supervisors on November 20, 1887. It became incorporated as a city in 1919.

The first store was built and occupied by Hayward, Wescott, and Murrary. The first hotel was the LakeShore House owned by A. Shindler. The first dwelling house was built by R. A Harris.

The following is taken from The Gogebic Range Directory of 1888:

"Silver and Gold Discoveries"

"Wakefield is receiving considerable notoriety from the fact that it may soon become a gold and silver producing point. It is near this place that the explorations for the above metals are being carried on. Although it has been known for some time that the precious metals existed here in a supposed scattered state, yet it was never thought of that they would be found in large quantities or of sufficient richness to guarantee mining.

Rock of various richness has been found, ranging from $1.00 to $1,000 per ton and yet nowhere has a depth of over sixty feet been reached. The formation is, as far as can be ascertained by present explorations, in two distinct veins, one running parallel to and directly south of the iron formation, and the other in a northeasterly and southwesterly direction.

The principal companies operating here are the Washburn, Dunlap, Detective, Clintonville, Windon, Silver King and Newton, and are composed of responsible businessmen."

Curtis and Stone operated a large sawmill in Marenisco in 1887. The Fair Brothers built a mill in Marenisco in 1888. It was at this time that the town began to prosper. In 1905, the mill burned. It was succeeded by a mill built by the Charcoal Iron Company. It was a combination wood and lumber mill.

Marenisco was established by a railroad company. It was in 1887, upon the plotting by the Milwaukee, Lake Shore, and Western Railway, that settlement began in Marenisco.

Martin J. Gillen, born at Racine, Wisconsin in 1872, spent the last thirteen years of her life at his vast wilderness estate, "Tenderfoot," in Marenisco Township. He died there in 1943.

He was the man who introduced Bernard M. Baruch to President Woodrow Wilson and also to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1917, Mr. Baruch became the chairman of the War Industries Board, and Mr. Gillen organized the "Industrial Mobilization Plan" for him. In 1918and 1919, Mr. Gillen served as Mr. Baruch’s assistant in the War Industries Board.

As an attorney, Mr. Gillen was an advisor and consultant for many of the large corporations in the United States. He was a specialist in economics and large corporations from bankruptcy.

Mr. Gillen is an example of some of the brilliant American leaders who spent a great part of their lives in Gogebic County.

Gogebic County was second in the Upper Peninsula to appoint a county agricultural agent – J. F. Kadonsky, July 1, 1914, succeeded by C. E. Gunderson, July 1, 1919, followed by Floyd Hicks, 1951-54, Rolund Kaven, 1954-57, and Andrew Bednar at the Present, 1966.

Mr. Kadonsky busied himself with organizing the Lake Superior Guernsey Breeders Association with 15 members shipping into the county several head of purebred Guernsey cows, heifers and bulls, drawing plans for dairy barns with ventilation systems, the introduction of early varieties of field corn, building silos, and testing cattle for tuberculosis, plus the organization of a corn club.

Effie May Carp was emergency home demonstration agent in 1918, followed by Hilda Pollari in 1919, then Sylvia Richardson and Jennie Williams up to September 1922, and Ruth Weatley from 1922-1924. Patching, sewing and canning demonstrations were held in every nook and corner of the county.

Work was heavy, roads bad, schoolhouse and town hall poorly lighted and telephone service poor. Travel was often by train, streetcar and horses. Extension had to be sold. Workers became discouraged and moved on.

Early in 1918, C. E. Gunderson was club agent and on July 1, 1919 became county agriculture agent. Large numbers of garden and dairy clubs continued unabated with the help of local leaders and paid summertime leaders, financed by township boards of education, until 4-H Club agents were engaged. Successive 4-H Club agents carried on a progressive program.

The Ottawa National Forest was approved as a purchase unit by the National Forest Reservation Commission in 1928. On January 27, 1931, the purchase unit was proclaimed the Ottawa National Forest by the President. The gross area of the original forest was 253,551.07 acres.

The administration of the Ottawa National Forest is vested in the Supervisor and Rangers. The original unit consisted of one Ranger district at Kenton. It was first administered under the immediate supervision of the Supervisior of the three Upper Michigan National Forests, who had his headquarters at Munising.

The Ironwood office was established February 28, 1935, and the Ottawa National Forest has since been administered as a separate unit.

One of the chief functions of the Ottawa National Forest is the "Multiple Use" of its area. It utilizes all the resources of the forest for the benefit of the public and maintains a growing, thrifty forest.

The early history of the Ottawa National Forest area can be divided into four periods:

1. Explorers and missionaries
2. Fur trading
3. Mining
4. Lumbering