Mining in Northern Wisconsin

Native Americans mined copper on the shores of Lake Superior in prehistoric times. Between 4,000 and 1,200 B.C., copper jewelry and implements from Wisconsin and Upper Michigan were part of a trade network that stretched from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf Coast, giving rise to the name "Old Copper Culture." You can see several of these artifacts here on the Turning Points site.

Easy access to copper deposits - - some of them literally lying on the shore in huge chunks - - was one the features of Lake Superior first noticed by early French travelers. It was mentioned by... more...

Original Documents and Other Primary Sources

	A newspaper report on the Gogebic iron district (1886)
	Ancient copper mines are discovered in 1848
	Increase Lapham explores the mineral region of northern Wisconsin in 1858.
	The eccentric poet who became Wisconsin's second state geologist.
	A sketch of mining promoter John Burton and the potential of northern mining operations
	A survey of mining activity in Northern Wisconsin, 1886
	Iron County booms in the mid-1880's
	Copper tools from Northern Wisconsin, 4000-1,200 B.C.
	Memoirs of an Interpreter among the Ojibwe, 1840-1900
	An Early Archaeological Report on the Old Copper Culture
	Increase Lapham examining a meteorite, ca. 1868
	Outdoor group portrait of the Gogebic Range iron miners, 1886
	Looking for copper near Lake Superior in 1846
	Bird's-eye views of Ashland in the 1880's
	The wreck of the Schooner "Lucerne"
	The Montreal Company builds an industrial community

Primary Sources Available Elsewhere

	The second annual report of the state geologist, 1855
	The French attempt to mine copper on Lake Superior in 1739
	The Lake Superior copper deposits in 1820.
	Wisconsin Blue Books
	A tour of the Lake Superior mining district in 1846
	Travel Guide to Lake Superior in 1872
	The extent of Lake Superior mining activities in 1855

Related Links