Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
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 |
| Iron County booms in the mid-1880's |
| A survey of mining activity in Northern Wisconsin, 1886 |
| A sketch of mining promoter John Burton and the potential of northern mining operations |
| The eccentric poet who became Wisconsin's second state geologist. |
| Increase Lapham explores the mineral region of northern Wisconsin in 1858. |
 | 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 |
 | Outdoor group portrait of the Gogebic Range iron miners, 1886 |
| Increase Lapham examining a meteorite, ca. 1868 |
 | Looking for copper near Lake Superior in 1846 |
 | Bird's-eye views of Ashland in the 1880's |
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