Business and Industry | Page 103

First mine on Mesabi Range, near Mountain Iron

First mine on Mesabi Range, near Mountain Iron, c.1892.

Leonidas Merritt

Leonidas Merritt in Duluth, ca. 1919.

Opening of the Mesabi Iron Range

In the 1880s, several members of the Lewis H. Merritt family found hematite on the Mesabi Range. This led to industrial development in northeastern Minnesota and the growth of the Lake Superior iron industry.

Burling and surface texture area

Burling and surface texture area of the Faribault Woolen Mills Company, 2011. Photograph by Elizabeth A. Gales.

Spinning frame and roving areas

Spinning frame and roving areas of the Faribault Woolen Mills Company, 2011. Photograph by Elizabeth A. Gales.

North and east façades

North and east façades, of Faribault Woolen Mill Company, 2011. Photograph by Elizabeth A. Gales.

North and west façades

North and west façades of Faribault Woolen Mill with Cannon River in the foreground, 2011. Photograph by Elizabeth A. Gales.

The Merritt Family and the Mesabi Iron Range

The discovery of iron ore on the Mesabi Range can hardly be credited to one person. In 1890, however, it was the family of Lewis Merritt that found merchantable ore and opened the Mesabi to industry. Within three years, they owned several mines and had built a railroad leading to immense ore docks in Duluth. On the cusp of controlling a mining empire in northern Minnesota, they lost everything to business titan John D. Rockefeller.