Reopening the Mine and Moving Republic

Reopening the Mine and Moving Republic. . There were advantages and disadvantages to the mine expansion and subsequent moving of Republic., In 1950 rumors circulated that the long period of mine inactivity was coming to an end. Cleveland Cliffs began a huge expansion program and reopened the mine to create an open pit mine producing pelletized ore. It necessitated moving about half of the homes in Republic to a site about 3 miles south and demolishing many others, including the Republic Central School. Between 1955 and 1973 about 90 homes were moved successfully by the Schutte Moving Company of Wausau, Wisconsin. Most had been on company land., The largest and last building moved was the Bethany Lutheran Church. The bricks and the steeple were removed and the stained glass windows boarded up. In 1962-63 a new school was built in South Republic, after several years of negotiations. After an extended Christmas vacation, classes began there in February of 1964., The advantages were more job opportunities lasting for many years, a fine new school at a reasonable cost and better housing for many. The main disadvantages were a geographically divided community and an economically troubled business section which continues to plague us.