Milford Mine

Milford Mine. . , Milford mine is located at the northern extent of the Cuyuna Iron Range. Exploratory drilling, conducted from 1912 to 1917, showed the area between Island Lake and Foley Lake to have large quantities of manganiferous iron ore., Underground mine development and ore extraction began in 1918, as Ida Mae Mine. The manganese content of the ore was valued during the First World War, because it produced hard and durable steel. Operations at Ida Mae Mine ceased in 1920. In 1922 the mine reopened as Milford Mine. By 1924 over 100 people worked at the mine, with two shifts working around the clock., , This 1925 map of the Milford Mine property shows the mine shaft, buildings and other mine features. The unlabeled buildings south of the Office were small houses where miners with families lived. West of these houses, across a swamp, was a boarding house for single men., This illustration was drawn by the archaeologists who documented the site for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. It shows the extent of the underground mining operations, the point of the cave-in that created the mine disaster, and the resulting change in Foley Lake, which is now called Milford Lake., , A view to north at Milford Mine. In the foreground is the garage where miners parked their cars. Behind the garage you can see the water tank, engine house and the top of the headframe covering the mine shaft. on [sic] the left is the power house. Signs along the Milford Mine trail describe each of these facilities., , The main street at Milford Mine was lined with small houses for miners and their families. At the north end of the street you can see the Dry House, where miners changed in and out of their mining clothes., , The Milford Mine disaster occurred on February 5, 1924. Water was pumped form the mine, Foley Lake and the surrounding wetlands before recovery operations began. It took over nine months of arduous labor before all the bodies were recovered., After the recovery, pumping of water and cleaning of the mine continued. A second shaft, designed for lowering timber supports into the mine, was sunk in 1925 and Milford Mine reopened in 1926. By 1928 a second timber shaft was sunk and mining expanded into the neighboring Foley Mine property. Milford Mine closed in 1932. From 1918 to 1932, Milford Mine yielded 1,266,172 tons of iron ore., , A large headframe covered the Milford mine shaft. Cables from the engine house ran over large sheave wheels at the top of the headframe, operating the cage, which carried miners, and the skip, which carried ore., Photos courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society, , The Milford miners came from the United States, Canada and across the European continent. They came to the Cuyuna Range for a better life. They married. They had children. They lived the American Dream. They identified as Cuyuna miners and as Cuyuna families. Their camaraderie and sense of community transcended their former nationalities and ethnic identities. , Photo courtesy of the Cuyuna Iron Range Heritage Network