Montreal Trails – The Montreal Mine

Iron County Heritage Area

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, July 21, 2011

1. Montreal Trails – The Montreal Mine Marker

Inscription. 1884 … The rush was on to discover “red gold” on the Penokee Range! Speculators, miners and immigrants flocked to this area seeking their fortune in iron ore. Established as a small open pit mine in 1885 by the Oglebay-Norton Mining Company, the Montreal was just one of more than one hundred mines operating in this area. Most were abandoned as worthless ventures by 1887. But the Montreal Mine would prove to be one of the world’s largest iron ore deposits.

The Montreal had produced 45 million tons of iron ore when it shutdown in 1962. Competition from cheaper sources of iron, not the lack of ore, forced the closing. The huge tailing piles before you are waste rock left over after 77 years of mining “red gold.”

The handsome Modern-Art Deco fieldstone building, next to the parking lot, once served as the Montreal Mining company Medical Clinic.

It is now the Montreal City Hall. This is one of many structures, built by the company, for the benefit of the miners and their families that remain along the Montreal Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic

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lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Art Deco series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1884.

Location. Marker is missing. It was located near 46° 25.85′ N, 90° 13.88′ W. Marker was in Montreal, Wisconsin, in Iron County. It was on Wisconsin Route 77, on the right when traveling east. Marker is located in the parking lot at the Montreal municipal garage. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 53 Wisconsin Ave, Montreal WI 54550, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in Wisconsin’s Copper Country

and on the North Shore. It was also in the American Midwest,

on the Great Lakes,

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it was in North America,

the Great North Woods,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this location, measured as the crow flies: The City of Montreal (within shouting distance of this

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, July 21, 2011

2. Montreal Trails – The Montreal Mine Marker

Inset – The Montreal Mine’s #5 Headframe towered over the community, a symbol of the importance of iron ore mining. In 1964, the great headframe was torn down for scrap metal signalling the end of the iron mining era. The huge waste rocks piles, called “tailings,” still stand as a lasting monument to the miners and their families.

marker); George W. Sullivan (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Penokee Iron Range Trail – Gile Falls (approx. ¼ mile away); Penokee Iron Range Trail – Montreal Location (approx. 0.3 miles away); Penokee Iron Range Trail – A Company Town (approx. 0.3 miles away); Flambeau Trail – Flambeau Trail Crossing (approx. 1.2 miles away); This 5 ½ Foot Diameter Drill Core (approx. 2½ miles away); Penokee Iron Range Trail – Historic Iron County Courthouse (approx. 2.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Montreal.

Additional keywords. Mining

Marker is missing. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jim Schaettle, July 26, 2020

3. Marker is missing.

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, August 22, 2011

4. Montreal Trails – The Montreal Mine Marker

Fieldstone building mentioned in the marker.

Mound of mine tailings to south of garage image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Paul Fehrenbach, July 21, 2011

5. Mound of mine tailings to south of garage

Credits. This page was last revised on August 26, 2020. It was originally submitted on July 28, 2011, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 1,890 times since then and 97 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 28, 2011, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. 3. submitted on August 1, 2020, by Jim Schaettle of Madison, Wisconsin. 4. submitted on August 8, 2012, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. 5. submitted on July 28, 2011, by Paul Fehrenbach of Richfield, Wisconsin. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.