Milford Mine Pre-Disaster

Milford Mine Pre-Disaster. . , The Milford Mine is located in the northernmost portion of the Cuyuna Range. The mine property was owned by George H. Crosby's Whitmarsh Mining Company and the Messaba Cuyuna Iron Land Company; however, initial mining operations were undertaken by E.T. Merritt's Cuyuna-Minneapolis Iron Company, through a lease agreement with Whitmarsh. During this period of development, the mine was known as the Ida Mae or Ida May, after Merritt's wife., Exploratory drilling at the Ida Mae began in 1912 and continued through 1917. In 1918, the first shaft was sunk, and underground development began. That year, 4,917 tons of ore were shipped from the mine to be followed by just 270 tons in 1919. While the Ida Mae was producing at a rate of 140 tons per day and continued to stockpile ore during the winter of 1919-1920., In 1921, the Whitmarsh Mining Company took over the lease and operations of the idled mine, pumped out the water and re-opened it in 1922 as the Milford Mine. By that time, the mine was completely outfitted with a hoist, air compressors, and electric motor generators. A "location" of approximately 12 shacks for miner's families was present along a single street immediately south of the mine complex. To the west, and separated by a wetland from the main mine complex, was a large rooming house for single men. In 1924, the mine employed about 115 men. During the first full year of the Milford Mine's operations (1923), the mine yielded 76,301 tons of ore. During the winter of 1923-24, prior to the Milford Mine disaster, the mine stockpiled an additional 40,000 tons of ore.