This is one of two barrow pits that was established on the site. This barrow pit is irregularly shaped and was most likely the source of material to fill in wetlands during the construction of the spur grade that is located to the north. — — Map (db m305649) HM
This is one of two barrow pits that was established on the site. This barrow pit is irregularly shaped and was most likely used for the construction of the road bed that led to the town of Manganese. This road is located to the south of the . . . — — Map (db m313806) HM
1939 image showing the boarding house
The presence of the exterior walls of this former north-south oriented building are indicated by an earthen berm that measures 22 feet x 68 feet. If you look closely, you can faintly make out the . . . — — Map (db m309364) HM
Minnesota's Iron Ranges
The Vermilion, the Mesabi and the Cuyuna are Minnesota's three major iron ranges.
This commercial postcard illustrates the well-known mining heritage of the Cuyuna Range. Note the statement . . . — — Map (db m287466) HM
Approximately 500 feet from the west edge of the Milford Mine Historic District, a 700-foot long trestle carried the rail line over an inlet of Island Lake. While the trestle itself no longer exists, the footings from some of the trestle's bents . . . — — Map (db m279259) HM
1925 map showing the mud run, launder & the dikes
2019 aerial view showing the mud run, launder & the dikes
From this vantage point, looking south (or in front and to the right of this sign), you will see the area that was used as a . . . — — Map (db m278981) HM
The Dry House was located at the north end of the main street that ran through the Milford Mine location. The remains of shower stalls can be seen at the south end of the concrete foundation.
Photo Courtesy of the Minnesota . . . — — Map (db m311133) HM
In the Engine House, which was also called the Hoist House, were the mine's air compressors, hoisting engines and other equipment. The hoisting engine powered cables that ran around the sheave wheels on top of the headframe, lowering and raising . . . — — Map (db m308125) HM
Drilling was used to explore the extent of the ore body, to determine both its depth and lateral position. Here, at the Milford Mine, exploratory drilling began in 1912 and continued through 1917. A map of the mine property shows 48 exploratory . . . — — Map (db m287924) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m282507) HM
No other natural characteristic was a more significant contributing factor to the development of the Milford Mine site than the region's geology. The Milford Mine is located within the Cuyuna's North Range, which is made up of a significant . . . — — Map (db m285241) HM
In memory of the forty one miners who lost their lives in the tragic flooding of the Milford Mine on February 5, 1924
Earl Bedard • Mike Bizal • Oliver Burns • George Butkovich • Emil Carlson • Valentine Cole • Evan Crellin • Roy Cunningham . . . — — Map (db m288373) HM
In front of this sign, just north of the trail, is the concrete foundation of the Milford Mine parking garage. The garage is shown in the right foreground of the photograph. This wooden framed structure was sided with corrugated metal and had . . . — — Map (db m311134) HM
The many lakes and wetlands of Cuyuna Iron Range made it difficult to locate and gain access to the ore bodies. The Milford Mine was situated between Island Lake and a smaller body of water called Foley Lake. Due to its size, it was also called . . . — — Map (db m281038) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m286594) HM
At 3:45 in the afternoon the roof of Contract 13 caved in allowing water to enter the working mine.
Miners working in a room called a Drift, an area that was braced with green timbers that are six inches in diameter and placed four to six . . . — — Map (db m283016) HM
3:50 PM
It's now been five minutes since Contract 13 has caved in and water has been filling the mine.
The miners in the Drifts and 200' level have perished and water and mud continues to rush in to the mine.
By this . . . — — Map (db m281977) HM
3:53 PM
It's now been 8 minutes since Contract 13 has caved in and water has been filling the mine.
The 175' level of the mine working has completely filled in with water and mud, and the 165' level is filling as well. . . . — — Map (db m281254) HM
3:58 PM
It's mow [sic] been 13 minutes since Contract 13 has caved in and water has been filling the mine. Water and mud have been pouring into the working of the mine and have filled the mine completely.
Miners Emil Kaine, . . . — — Map (db m282719) HM
On February 5th, 1924, forty-eight miners were working on the 165-foot and 175-foot levels of Milford Mine. About fifteen minutes before the end of the day shift, water and mud flooded into the mine at such a rapid rate that all the mining . . . — — Map (db m287497) HM
This map was drawn by the archaeologists who documented the Milford Mine Historic District for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The concrete foundation on your right is noted as Building #8. The function of this building is . . . — — Map (db m313802) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m286197) HM
The rail line to Milford Mine was on a loop constructed in 1913 from Iron Hub, northward around Rabbit Lake. This rail line serviced the town of Manganese, Milford Mine and mines at Trommald. On the day of the Milford Mine Disaster, Annie . . . — — Map (db m285076) HM
Photos courtesy of Cuyuna Iron Range Historical Network
This photograph of Milford miners was taken with a panoramic camera. The camera was facing southwest. As the photo was taken, the camera lens moved slowly from . . . — — Map (db m299039) HM
Earl Bedard
1901 - 1924
Earl Bedard was born in Amasa, Michigan. He lost his mother at age two and was raised by his father and older sister. After graduating from high school he worked as a streetcar motorman in Iron River, Michigan before . . . — — Map (db m289236) HM
George Butkovich
1894 - 1924
George Butkovich was born in Austria. He married Anna Perpich and the couple made their home in Ironton, Minnesota. They had three children, two boys and a girl. At the time of the Milford Mine disaster George was . . . — — Map (db m289240) HM
Roy J. Cunningham
1890-1924
Roy Cunningham was 33 years old when he lost his life in the Milford Mine disaster. He was born in Illinois. He moved to the Cuyuna Iron Range and married Effie Thomson, whose father had an investment in the Thomson . . . — — Map (db m289857) HM
Elmer Haug
1896-1924
At the time of the Milford Mine disaster, miner Elmer Haug was 27 years old. He was born in Ada, Minnesota. He married Alice Peterson and they had one child, a girl. When she lost her husband, Alice was 22 years old and . . . — — Map (db m289859) HM
John Herman Holm
1883 - 1924
John H. Holm, who was known to his fellow miners as Herman Holm, was born in Sweden and came to the United States when he was seventeen years old. He worked as a miner on the Cuyuna Range for 12 years before . . . — — Map (db m293437) HM
The Milford Mine tragedy affected the entire community on a deeply personal level. Forty-one miners lost their lives that afternoon. Thirty-eight women lost their husbands. Eighty-three children lost their fathers. It is the worst mining . . . — — Map (db m303825) HM
Victor G. Ketola
1884 - 1924
Victor Ketola was born in Finland, where he mat and married Rose Wirtonen. The couple emigrated to the United States in 1911 and settled in Crosby. Victor and Rose had two children. Victor worked as a miner on the . . . — — Map (db m293438) HM
John Maurich
1885? - 1924
John Maurich was reported to have been 39 years old at the time of his death in the flooding of the Milford Mine, although records do not indicate his exact date of birth. John had worked at mines on the Cuyuna Iron . . . — — Map (db m294575) HM
Simmon H. Palomaki
(Henry Maki)
1884 - 1924
Simmon Palomaki, who was also known to his fellow miners as Henry Maki, was born in Finland. Simmon was single and lived in Crosby. He was 40 years old at the time of his death in the Milford Mine . . . — — Map (db m294576) HM
Nels R. Ritari
1886 - 1924
Nels Ritari was born in Finland and came to the United States with his parents when he was 15 years old. He worked at the Northern Pacific Railroad shops in Brainerd, then was employed at the Milford Mine for a short . . . — — Map (db m296190) HM
Marko Toljan
1884 - 1924
Marko Toljan was born in Austria. He emigrated to the United States and worked as a miner on the Cuyuna Range for several years before marrying Maggie Matosic in 1923. Maggie had four children from a previous marriage, . . . — — Map (db m299038) HM
Arthur E. Wolford
1890 - 1924
Arthur Wolford was born near Waterville, Minnesota. When he was five years old he moved with his parents to the community of Wolford, near the Milford Mine. Arthur was known as a healer, having a remarkable capacity . . . — — Map (db m301330) HM
The main shaft of the Milford Mine was sunk in 1918. A large structure called a headframe stood over the shaft opening. It had a lumber frame covered with corrugated sheet metal. The headframe, also called a shaft house, covered the inner . . . — — Map (db m288846) HM
1925 map showing the mud run, launder & the dikes
2019 aerial view showing the mud run, launder & the dikes
The 1925 Map of the Milford Mines Property documents a "mud run", "launder" and a series of dikes to the north and west of . . . — — Map (db m296189) HM
Making the Grade
Railroad Construction in the North Cuyuna Range was initiated by the Cuyuna Iron Range Railway company, which was formed in 1908. In 1910, the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Sault Ste. Marie Railway Company, better known as . . . — — Map (db m287925) HM
The plan view below shows two rooms in this building. The room on your right has a dirt floor. This was likely a blacksmith shop. If you look closely, you can steel see fragments of coal on the floor. The room on the left housed a machine shop. . . . — — Map (db m288369) HM
In 1924 when the Mine Disaster occurred, there were two access points into Milford for vehicles (not including railways). One of these is the Road to Wolford and the other was the Road to Manganese. You are currently standing on the Road to . . . — — Map (db m286584) HM
In 1910, the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad, better known as the "Soo Line," purchased the Cuyuna Iron Range Railway, allowing for transport of ore from Cuyuna Range mines to Great Lakes shipping docks in Superior Wisconsin. . . . — — Map (db m303828) HM
Shipping ceased on Lake Superior during the winter months, so ore was stored here, in this large level area called the Stockpile Grounds. In the spring, stockpiled ore was loaded into railcars with a steam shovel.
The stockpile of ore can . . . — — Map (db m305653) HM
No historical images or descriptions of these cuts into the embankments that are observed here exist today. Upon early investigations in 2015 by archaeologists, they discovered pails, barrels and fragments of coal on the surface.
The exact . . . — — Map (db m308126) HM
At the time of the 1924 disaster, the Milford Mine only had a single shaft, and this timber shaft was in the planning stages. We have no photographs of a headframe and records are few. This shaft was likely not sunk until 1925, since all mining . . . — — Map (db m286199) HM
Visible remains of the Milford Mine water tank are the concrete piers that supported the legs of the tower. The 15,000-gallon wooden tank sat atop a thirty-foot steel tower, providing water pressure for mine facilities. — — Map (db m309363) HM
On Milford Lake Drive south of County Road 30, on the left when traveling west.
Milford Mine
This historic mining site is located at the northern extent of the Cuyuna Iron Range. Exploratory drilling showed the area between Island Lake and Foley Lake to have large quantities of manganiferous iron ore. Underground . . . — — Map (db m278020) HM
