MARQUETTE – William Austin Burt may be better known for his invention of an early version of the typewriter, which he called the typographer, but one of his other inventions played a much more important role in the future development of the Upper Peninsula – the solar compass.

“I would say it was instrumental in finding iron ore,” said Jo DeYoung, curator at the Marquette Regional History Center.

Burt and his surveying crew have been credited with making the region’s first discovery of iron ore back in 1844, after stumbling upon a deposit of the mineral south of Negaunee’s Teal Lake.

Though it’s not the first one Burt invented, nor is it the one he used while surveying Michigan in the 1840s as deputy federal surveyor, the Marquette Regional History Center does have a solar compass in its collection.

It’s a No. 10, made by Grant & Crosman of Detroit, which only operated for a few years in the mid 1800s.

“As far as I know there are only two of this make and model anywhere,” DeYoung said. “So it’s a pretty significant model of solar compass.”

Burt and his wife, Phebe, moved to the Michigan Territory in the 1820s. He was later sent to Wisconsin in the 1830s where he discovered the need for a more accurate tool than the standard magnetic compass, which becomes erratic when encountering metallic mineral deposits.

To solve the problem, Burt created the solar compass that relies on a surveyor’s geographical location, the position of the sun and time of day to determine true north.

His first solar compass was built in 1836 by William J. Young of Philadelphia for about $25, and received a patent that same year.

Besides the No. 10 compass, the history center also has an audio recording of Burt’s field notes and journal.

“I have been up here in this wilderness they call the Upper Peninsula of Michigan trying to do some survey work,” Burt wrote. “The weather has been cloudy and cold. Imagine, 5 inches of snow falling on Sept. 21. The branches and weeds have torn our clothes to shreds as we work through the thick brush. To make matters worse, the black flies nearly ate us alive.”

A typical survey crew included the professional surveyor; two chainmen, who measured the surveying line; and an axeman, who marked and cleared the path of brush.

According to the history center, Burt’s party arrived at the site of what would later become Marquette in mid-September 1844. The region’s rugged wilderness rendered the party’s pack horses useless, leaving the men to carry provisions themselves.

On Sept. 18, 1844, the crew was camped near Teal Lake in Negaunee, and the following morning they began surveying a line south.

“My compass man here, Harvey Mellen, began to notice fluctuation in the variation of the magnetic needle,” Burt wrote. “At length he called, ‘Come and see a variation that will beat them all.’ The north end of the needle was traversing a few degrees to the south of the west, I called out ‘Boys look around and see what you can find.'”

What they found was iron ore.

After the discovery, however, the crew continued its surveying duties south of Teal Lake for several days under snow and cloudy skies.

“The boys and I were soaked to the skin,” Burt wrote. “We were also very low on provisions. Our supply was stored about eight miles ahead in the direction we were trying to run the line, but no one would dare risk the needle as a guide or go themselves to get it. My solar compass also useless when the sun disappeared.”

Short on food, the crew came across and secured three porcupines found in a birch tree.

“We continued running a line the short distance to the east but we were so hungry, the thought of porcupine steaks was irresistible,” Burt wrote. “We fired a big pine stump, dried our clothes, cooked one of our porkies and devoured him for breakfast. We had the second for lunch and made soup out of the third for our supper. The next day we reached our provisions having subsisted six days on food we had intended for two days.”

When news of Burt’s discovery finally spread, a group of men from downstate Jackson who, according to the history center, knew little about mining formed the Jackson Mining Company in June 1845.

The following month, members of the group arrived at the location near Teal Lake, the site for the first of many mines to follow on the the Marquette Iron Range.

“Overall, the knowledge we gained on this expedition more than made up for the hardships we encountered,” Burt wrote. “My solar compass proved to be a great asset, as I knew it would. The iron ore samples we gathered will be submitted with the field notes from the survey. I see a great future for this iron range, with people, mines, ships and railroads, all part of the picture. No sir, this Upper Peninsula will not be a wilderness for long. Mark my words.”

Ryan Jarvi can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 242. His email address is rjarvi@miningjournal.net.