Mountain Iron

Mountain Iron. . The Merritt Brothers made the first discovery of iron ore on the Mesabi Range in 1890, declaring it a "mountain of iron." With this find, their prospectors' camp lost its temporary aspect and began to swell in size and importance. On October 17, 1892, the Village of Mountain Iron was incorporated, an event coinciding with the first shipment of iron ore from the Merritt-owned Mountain Iron Mine. The Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railway Company was established to transport ore from the Merritt operations to ore docks in Superior, Wisconsin. In trying to extend their railroad into Duluth, the Merritts overextended their financial capabilities. This was their undoing. Eventually, they lost everything to John D. Rockefeller, who had invested heavily in the railroad venture with Merritt holdings as collateral., Despite the Merritts' fate, the town continued to prosper. By 1915, a new village hall was constructed, along with an elegantly finished Carnegie Library. They, along with the original railroad depot and other historic structures and sites, including the Leonidas Merritt home, are part of a Mountain Iron history tour. An overlook provides a view of the historic Mountain Iron Mine, in operation from 1892-1908 and 1942-1956., National Register of Historic Places