This monument in the city of Negaunee marks the discovery of iron. (Photo courtesy of the Negaunee Historical Society)

NEGAUNEE — In 1843 when Indian treaties made it possible for white men to explore Lake Superior’s shores, it was copper that first drew men to the wilderness.

Iron, according to authorities, was discovered by accident, and there didn’t seem to be a “gold rush.” Julius Ropes found outcrops of gold and silver in 1881. With the development of the Ropes Gold Mine, Ishpeming became a gold mining town with hundreds of visitors.

Ropes predicted that the whole Dead River valley would echo with the sound of mining and stamp mills. He believed that the hills were rich in gold, silver and other minerals. Gold mines opened in numerous locations including the Ropes in Ishpeming and the Negaunee Gold and Silver Co.

When the Michigan Gold mine opened, gold pilfering by the miners was a big problem. How much gold had been stolen was never determined but it was estimated in the thousands of dollars.

Two miners were apprehended with a trunk load valued at $3,000. They were caught just before a planned trip to Europe. This prompted the company to build a fence around the property.

The company kept the area guarded and all employees were searched before they could leave. The Ropes operated for 15 years and employed about 35 men. In that period of time, they produced more than $647,000 worth of gold and silver, of that 80% was gold. The mine reopened several times. The latest operation lasted 1985 to 1989. Causes of the closure were reported to be the drop in value of gold and cost needed to line the main shaft through unstable ground.

Andrew Carnegie once made a statement that gold was precious, iron was priceless. Imagine what life would be like without iron and steel. there would be no skyscrapers, no steel coiled mattresses,no cars.

More than any resource or event, iron and steel have transformed American society. In 1844, William burt, a surveyor, was intent on surveying Marquette County. He and his 10 man crew were anxious to complete the task and get out of the dreary country before winter set in.

One mile south of Teal Lake he had trouble with his compass needle and wondered why it quivered. Burt scattered his men in the brush to see what they could find that might cause this strange reaction. They found iron outcrop and broke off chunks but decided it was too heavy to carry regarding it as unimportant.

However, they remembered the incident and told the story to a Chippewa chief, Marji Gesick. Iron rock was a nuisance for the men trying to run section lines.

A half breed named Louis Nolan did not forget the talk and when Philo Everett and four associates came from Jackson they hired Nolan as a guide to go to the Copper Country and he told them about the trouble Burt had with the compass and they decided to look at the iron outcrop before going.

Nolan could not locate the place in that mosquito infested area and the dense thickets and cliffs confused them.

So they set out for the Copper Country wading through tamarack swamps through forests,(later to be Henry Ford’s timber land) By a strange twist of fate Philo Everett met Marji Gesick in L’Anse.

He knew the Marquette country and offered to locate that iron ore and they turned back. It is said that Marji Gesick was afraid to go near the iron hill because it was bad medicine. One story says he drew a map in the pine needles and another said he took them to the spot and picked up the ore to show them.

In any case the result was the first mine in the Lake Superior region. In honor of his home town, Everett called it the Jackson Mine. The town was given the Indian name Negaunee, meaning pioneer. In 1904, at the location of the Jackson Mine, a pyramid of iron ore blocks was constructed to mark the site.

This monument was moved to the Miners Park adjacent to U.S. 41, at the time that the western end of town was vacated. This was a small beginning of a big industry.

Negaunee can justly lay claim to all her name implies, “Pioneer,” and the city that was foremost in the development in the iron industry.