Foley Pond/Milford Lake

Foley Pond/Milford Lake. . , One of the challenges of mining on the Cuyuna Range was the presence of numerous lakes, which made it both difficult to find, access and mine the area's ore. The Milford Mine is situated proximate to both Island Lake and Milford Lake., Prior to the start of underground mining operations, Milford Lake (then called Foley Lake or Foley Pond) consisted of two bodies of water joined by a narrow neck and the lake was also surrounded by expansive wetlands., Foley/Milford Lake on the 1912 USGS topographic map, Overlay of the 1913 and 1973 USGS topographic maps with the 1913 lake boundary outlined and caved ground indicated., At the time of the 1924 disaster, the easternmost working on the Milford Mine were located about 1,000 feet to the east of the main shaft. These workings were beneath a muskeg swamp, but not the body of the lake. However, when the mine flooded on the afternoon of Tuesday February 5th, both the water level of the swamp and neighboring Foley Lake dropped, leading the commitee [sic] investigating the disaster to conclude that the water bodies were interconnected and that the pressure of Foley Lake contributed to the collapse. Specifically, the closest room to the lake, (directly below where you stand today), after being mined out was blasted down on Friday February 1, but had "hung up" and did not fully collapse. The remaining arch of rock over this room eventually gave way on February 5th and, as it settled, an opening broke through to the surface. When the lake was drained after the disaster, between 8 and 18 feet of muskeg was documented over the hold that caved into Contact 13.