Republic in the 1920s. (Courtesy photo)

REPUBLIC — By the 1920s, the mining village of Republic (originally named Iron City) had had 50 years of growth and times were good.

Republic was founded in 1870 with the organization of the Republic Mining Company. Before mining operations could take place, the narrow path north to Humboldt needed to be widened and improved. Capt. Peter Pascoe began the work in 1871 and in November of that year the mine was opened. The Marquette, Houghton and Ontonogan railroad spur was completed in 1872.

In addition to the Pascoe family, early settlers were the Matt Gibson family, James Dower family, Gilbert Beauchamp, James St. Clair, James Gregory and the Munson, Laxstrom, Gamble and Babcock families. Many of these early settlers came through the Copper Country, where mining operations were already underway.

Housing was first provided by the mining company in log shanties built very near the mine on Smith’s Mountain. Soon, however, homes began to be built in the present location of the village. Later, ethnic groups tended to cluster together, leading to neighborhoods called Frenchtown, Swedetown and Park City.

Early miners were Cornishmen, French-Canadians, and Swedes. Later came the Finns and Belgians. Single men lived in boarding houses in town, the earliest opened by Matt Gibson. Several boarding houses were located on Mining Street, which was close to the mine and along the river.

The Ely Hotel (occupied in the ’30s by the Bert Anderson family and later by the Camille Venn family) was the first of at least five hotels in operation during the early years. The former Ely Hotel served as a boarding house for teachers for many years well into the 1950s.

Parallel with mining, the lumber industry boomed, employing hundreds of lumberjacks, most of whom lived in lumber camps where days off resulted in crowds of them coming to town on weekends with their pay ready to be spent.

At one time there were 14 saloons in town; a temperance hall was built in Park City to try to offset them.

During the early period, all religious activities took place in the school, which was built in 1873. The first church to organize was St. Augustine’s Catholic Church in 1871, followed by the Methodists in 1872, whose church built in 1880 is still in use by the congregation. Swedish and Finnish Lutheran congregations used the Methodist church for many years until they built their own churches. Apostolic Lutheran and Finnish Evangelical Lutherans were also organized in the community for long periods of time.

Because the Republic Mining Company’s mines on Smith’s Mountain and other locations were so successful, employing 1,100 to 1,200 men, several other firms became interested in the area. Explorations and operations were attempted at Erie, Kloman, West Republic, Metropolis, Standard and Riverside properties. None proved as successful as the original Republic Mine.

The mining company built the Republic Central School and a hospital overlooking Mirror Lake, which was also called School Lake. Smaller neighborhood schools in West Republic, Witbeck, Witch Lake, Trout Falls and Black River were closed when bus service began in 1926. The first graduating class consisted of Albert and Roland Gamble in 1896. Republic Central School was used until the 1950s’ open-pit mine expansion led to the relocation of a part of the town about 6 miles south. The new Republic High School opened in South Republic in 1964.

The Republic State Bank was incorporated in 1912 and began business in 1913. In its heyday, Republic was home to a variety of businesses: several grocery stores, two co-ops, two car dealerships, department stores, a jewelry store, a lingerie shop, a millinery shop, a soda fountain, blacksmith, several saunas, a shoemaker, a funeral home and even a Chinese laundry run by Moy A. Lon. A resident had no need to travel outside of town for anything they might need to purchase. Population in 1880 was 1,787. In 1890 the village had grown to 2,594 and stayed at a level over 2,000 until 1930 when census records show 1,422 residents.

Presently, the 2020 census population is at 1,064.

In the late ’20s, the economy began to slow down. The mine closed in 1928 and soon America was in the Great Depression. The New Deal brought some employment through the WPA and CCC camps. The school gym, roads and bridges and the Boy Scout camp at Suneson Lake were built in the 1930s. People survived by continuing to farm, working in the woods and marketing Christmas trees and evergreen boughs.

In the 1950s with improvements in processing, interest in local iron ore resulted in the reopening of the mine as an open pit in 1956. This necessitated the relocation of a large number of homes 6 miles south into Erickson’s potato field. South Republic, sometimes called NewLo or Windy Acres, developed into a lovely tree-lined neighborhood.

With the opening of the open-pit mine, another period of relative prosperity occurred, although developments in transportation allowed workers to live in other communities and commute to work. The town never returned to the prosperity it had enjoyed during its early years. The open-pit mine was closed in 1982. Republic remains today a community divided into two villages.

Republic celebrated 150 years in 2021 with a parade honoring oldest residents Patricia Kaleva and Wilho Ritola as grand marshals. The Methodist Church was recognized for being the oldest building still standing in town. The historical society presented a pop-up museum and James Janofski did a program on Abraham Lincoln. Old town sites were identified with pictures and descriptions of former buildings and businesses. The day of celebration ended with an array of sky lanterns launched from Kloman Bridge.

The Republic Area Historical Society reopened its Pascoe House museum on Memorial Day weekend. Museum hours are 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through the summer. Members are available at other hours by calling numbers posted at the museum.