Mine: Dunn Mine, Crystal Falls, MI

Began → Dunn Mine → Became

Operated for 28 years.

From: 1887

Location: W 1/2-NE Sec. 1 of T42N-R33W

Owned by: In 1891 by F. Schlesinger Syndicate. Corrigan McKinney & Co., acquired by Republic Steel Corp in 1935. Lease surrendered in 1936

Produced: Iron Ore, soft, reddish-brown, high phosphorus. Crushed.

Method: Underground, worked by stoping method.

Railroad connection: Initially, C&NW to Escanaba ore dock via Alpha branch. After 1900, by C&NW and MILW.

Until: 1915

Lifetime Production: 2,208,511 tons between 1887-1915

[LSIO-1950]

Notes

Time Line

1887. O.P. Posey of Whitewater; W.A. Whittlesey and A.A. Flint of Florence visited Shelden & Dunn's new mine on section 21, T43-R32. Captain W.A. Dunn's mine on section one and other new properties in the vicinity on Thursday. [DD-1887-0305]

1887. Carpenters are busily engaged on the work of erecting a boarding house, engine and boiler room and other mine buildings at the Dunn property. [DD-1887-0409]

1887. June. Railroad contractors are about all alike, they are continually having trouble with some one, principally the laborers employed by them. Ryan Brothers, of Janesville, WI, who are putting in the Dunn mine spur, are not much different from any other contractors and much complaint is heard from men who work there. The Ryan's pay off their men with checks on one corner of which is written "subject to correction," which, of course, cause the men no end of trouble, as it is exceedingly hard work to get the checks cashed with such a post script added. It is not safe to handle a check that can so easily be repudiated by the contractors and they would have more friends and be accounted straighter business men if the "subject to correction" was not added to the checks issued by them. [DD-1887-0618]

1887. August. The first train load of ore (C&NW) from the Dunn mine was sent to Escanaba yesterday via the Mastodon branch where a vessel was in waiting to take it to Cleveland. The Dunn will ship 40,000 tons of ore this season. The present work is confined to the open pit on the west side of the mine. 250 tons of ore were placed in the stock pile at the Dunn one day this week. The work was accomplished in 9½ hours with one skip and one derrick. [DD-1887-0813]

1887. November. A large, warm and commodious dry house has just been completed at the Dunn mine. [DD-1887-1105]

1888. August. H. Schlesinger, book-keeper and accountant for the Dunn mine, spent the week at Milwaukee. [DD-1888-0811]

1888. December. The city papers have only just learned that Ferdinand Schlesinger, of Milwaukee, purchased the Smith mine. He became the owner of that valuable property over two months ago. Mr. Schlesinger is the president of the York Iron Co., owner and operator of the Dunn mine. [DD-1888-1222]

1888. December. Angus Smith of Milwaukee has sold the Dunn iron mine, three miles east of Crystal Falls to Ferdinand Schlesinger of Milwaukee for $60,000. It yields a non-Bessemer ore that runs about 60% metallic iron, and shipped over 100,000 tons this year. [WEX-1888-1227]

1890. March. The frame work for the large new iron engine and drum house at the Dunn Mine is advancing as rapidly as weather will permit. [DD-1890-0301]

1890. Reverend F.O. Jones will preach out at the Dunn Mine Sunday afternoon 3:30 p.m. mining time. [DD-1890-0719]

1890. The Hungarian contingent of the night shift at the Dunn mine struck for an increase of wages. They were making from $2.80 to $3.25 per day and Supt. Florada told them he did not "hanker arter" (sic) Hungarians quite that hard. They were all again ready for work this week, but only those with families were taken, the others told to go elsewhere. [DD-1890-0809]

1890. This mine is owned by the Schlesinger Syndicate of Milwaukee. [DD-1890-0823]

1891. March. The Dunn has three shifts and employs 160 men. The stock docks hold 37,000 tons of ore. [DD-1891-0314]

1893. The Dunn mine, one of the Schlesinger syndicate's properties, with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons, has shut down on account of dullness of the iron market. About 200 men are thrown out of employment. [DFP-1893-0612]

1893. July. Owners of the fee of the Dunn mine announce that they will "permit grass to grow knee deep over the location" before they will reduce the present royalty of 40¢ per ton. Ferdinand Schlesinger, the lessee, shows no disposition to interfere with the growth of grass at present, and it would not be surprising if he permitted the owners to go to grass with the mine. [LAS-1893-0729]

1894. April. The Dunn will be sold at public auction to the highest bidder at a Sheriff sale. The sale will be made to satisfy judgement liens held by laborers amounting to $7,778.70. The leasehold, it will be remembered, was purchased by the C&NW railway company several months ago. The machinery and material is to be sold. The firm of Corrigan, Ives & Co. are the heaviest creditors of the York Iron Co., the owner of the mine, and it is believed they will be represented at the sale. The fee-owners of the property hold claims amounting to $22,000 for delinquent royalties. [DD-1894-0407]

1894. April. At the Sheriff's sale, the lease and mining machinery was bought by Corrigan, McKinney & Co. of Cleveland. This firm will also pay off the labor claims against the mine. The new owners offer fee holders 15¢ royalty which they refuse to accept. (The old fee was 40¢). The new owners are prepared to remove the machinery to Negaunee, in which case the prospects for operating the property are not very bright. [LAS-1894-0428]

1895. April. The advent of Ferdinand Schlesinger to Crystal Falls after an absence of two years, caused no little stir among business men and miners Wednesday. Together with Mr. Schlesinger came the welcome news that the Dunn mine had reverted to his control. A company of capitalists was organized at Milwaukee with Schlesinger as president and have purchased the Dunn. The return of the daring speculator to the Crystal Falls district is hailed with delight by the miners who remember "the good old times" when he controlled several of the leading mines of the district and when they drew wages worth working for. His return to the district is looked upon by businessmen as a sign of returning activity in the iron market, as it is generally conceded that he is too shrewd a miner to invest in a dead market.

At the present time the Dunn employs about 90 men, and though it is a small force for this mine, the work is progressing smoothly and rapidly, about 400 tons of ore being hoisted daily and shipped as hoisted.

The visions of great wealth which opened up before Schlesinger are all again dissipated. His rich gold mine in Mexico, rumors of the fabulous output of which have been floating to Milwaukee for the past year, has passed into the hands of Price McKinney, the well known iron men of Cleveland, who long ago obtained the ownership of the iron properties in Northern Michigan in which Mr. Schlesinger was swamped financially in the panic of 1893.

The fact that Corrigan, McKinney & Co. had control of the Dunn until Mr. Schlesinger's advent to Crystal Falls Wednesday night add color to the story of their connection with the Mexican gold mine, but would also give color to the opinion that the same company that controls the Dunn mine, with Schlesinger as their acknowledged president, might also control the Mexican property, and Schlesinger still manipulate the rudder. [DD-1895-0427]

1895. May. Ignazio Echer, a miner at the Dunn mine was the victim of a terrible accident resulting in his instant death. He was tending a skip at the 4th level when a loaded tram car came out of a drift. One man was pushing it instead of two, and he went to help, putting his hands on the front of the car. Close to the shaft the tramway is down grade and Echer kept his hands on the car as it backed toward the shaft. He did not realize that he was so close to the shaft until he stepped into it, dropping into the skip followed by the loaded car or ore which tumbled on top of him, crushing him into a shapeless mass. He was 40 years old and a widower, his two sons living in Tirol, Austria. [DD-1895-0511]

1895. The C&NW is placing a turntable at the Dunn mine. It is located on the main spur near the Dunn mine warehouses, and will be a decided convenience in handling ore trains at this property. [DD-1895-0518]

1898. May 30. A cave-in occurred at the Dunn mine that may result in the stoppage of work at that property for some time. The men were up for dinner when it occurred, thus avoiding any lives being lost. A portion of the shaft is affected. [DFP-1898-0530] The mine may  close permanently. The recent work has been removing of the pillars that surrounded the shaft. The fee of the property is owned by Congressman Shelden and Luke Welsh and the mine operated by the Dunn Mining Co., of which Ferdinand Schlesinger is the leading member. [DFP-1898-1128]

1899. The "first gun" in the promised controversy between the fee-owners and operators of the Dunn mine was fired last week. The mining company had removed the compressor from the engine house and loaded it upon a flat-car intending to ship it to Bessemer. The car had been shoved off the property with its load and the railroad company notified to pull it out. In the mean time, the fee-owners got "wind" of the removal of the compressor and notified the railroad company not to remove the car. It stands upon the siding yet and no move seems to be made by either party to release it. The mine owner wants to strip the property of its fine plant of machinery and the fee-owners have determined to prevent them from doing so. [DD-1899-0318]

1899. December. From Judge A.L. Flewelling of Crystal Falls, the Corrigan, McKinney & Co. have acquired a lease of the Dunn mine from the Sheldon estate. It is learned that the machinery at the mine has been purchased by the firm from the Dunn Mining Co. of which Ferdinand Schlesinger is president, with the consideration being $7,500. This would indicate that the Dunn is again to become active. While the old workings are supposed to be entirely worked out, it is known that there is considerable body of ore at another point on the property. In order to reach it, however, it will be necessary to sink a shaft to the depth of between six and eight hundred feet. It will be an expensive piece of work but before it is undertaken it is probable that the ground will be thoroughly proven up with a diamond drill. [INR-1899-1202]

1905. A company of about 25 men arrived to work on the St. Paul grade from the Tobin to the Dunn Mine. The railroad people are fixing up their tracks and getting ready to handle a big output from the Dunn when the water is out. [DD-1905-0513] Work on the Dunn mine extension was delayed by rain. The contractor is hastening work on the Columbia mine end of the spur so as to allow the laying of rails up to the Dunn mine creek where a big trestle has to be built. [DD-1905-0610]

1910. The Dunn Mine logging camp was closed and most workers laid off. The railroad was unable to provide sufficient cars to keep the skidder going. [DD-1910-0108]

1910. Sawyer Goodman & Co. are to resume work at their Dunn lumber camp next week. The Milwaukee Road spur to the scene of operations was cleared off during the week for the purpose of furnishing the camp with cars and hauling out the loads.

1910. April. Orders were received here to start two of the Corrigan-McKinney shovels, one at the Dunn mine and the other at the Baker mine at Stambaugh. The Mansfield also got orders to start loading its stockpile and there was a bustle about the railroad yards to get engines and cars to handle the output. [DD-1910-0430]

1911. The Dunn is one of the oldest mines in Iron County. The bottom level is the eleventh, at a depth of 1,420 feet. The shaft is three compartment, 6’ 4” x 16’ 4” inside. All ore hoisted is crushed before going on the stockpile or into the cars. The hoist is of the Sullivan Corliss type 20”x48”, first motion. A new compressor made by the Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company was recently installed, and is a Corliss two stage design, 20”x34” steam, 17”x28” air, with piston stroke of 36”, or a drill capacity of about 25 machines. This mine has underground electric haulage and also electric haulage for stocking on surface. The boiler battery consists of horizontal return tubular boilers, three of 150 horse power each and one of 125 horse power. The underground water is handled by a Prescott compound pump of 500 gallons capacity. [LSMI-1911]

1913. Forest fires started up with vengeance during the week, the hot and dry weather having fixed the slashing so that they were excellent food for the flames. A big fire started in the Blomgren chopping south of the Carpenter mine driven by a strong south-west wind, it rapidly advanced until it threatened the Carpenter mine. Fire Warden Wilson was appealed to and he went to the scene of action and assisted in fighting the flames. Along towards evening reports from the section between the Dunn and Mastodon became quite alarming. The big Sawyer-Goodman chopping's where the accumulated slash material of the past four years lies, was known to be on fire. A gang of men at work all night fighting back the fire which gained steadily. The course of the fire was from south-west sweeping directly towards the Dunn mine and the adjacent Carpenter property. 

The fire started at the site of the new Mastodon mine where A.D. McRae had a gang of men at work clearing the space where the proposed stripping operations are to be carried on. At the new Mastodon townsite the fire burned up all the stakes which surveyors had prepared and swept over the entire ground to be platted. [DD-1913-0305]

1913. Will Schober had his leg broken by being run over with the C&NW gasoline handcar last Thursday. A crew of eight men was riding along the Dunn mine spur tracks when the car jumped the track. [DD-1913-1115]

1915. The old Dunn is still on the map. It isn't making any world record but the small force is producing ore all of the time and looking for more. The ore body got so far away from the shaft that the company decided to sink a transfer closer to the ore body and this work is now completed and a new level is being opened up on the body of ore known as the "Richards". 

The Dunn mine proper is located in Mastodon township but the deposit of ore upon which the workmen have been busy for the past two years is located in Crystal Falls township. The Dunn mine is trying to get back into Mastodon township again by opening up a piece of ore found by the Cleveland-Cliffs company on the Kimberly lands east of the old Dunn pit. A drift is being driven from the shaft to open this ore which lies more than a quarter of a mile away. The drift was in a distance of 1,300 feet a week ago and several hundred feet more must be driven to get the ore. The body will be cut at a depth of over 1,000 feet so that if there is any size to the body there will be ample return for the great drifting expense. [DD-1915-1211]

1915. A crew of Milwaukee surveyors came to town last Tuesday and put the finishing touch on a lot of work that is contemplated at the Carpenter and Dunn mines. The present track to the Carpenter crosses the ore body and will soon be caved. Engineers were at work last fall selecting a route by which the Carpenter may be reached without crossing any more ore bodies.

It is understood that the plan contemplates the abandonment of the present Tobin mine branch of the St. Paul because of the threatened caving of the ground over which the track runs at the Bristol mine. It is probable that the work will be a joint nature as the present tendency of the railroad companies is to limit the outlay for mine sidings by joint ownership thus obviating the duplication made in the past. [DD-1915-1211]

1916. January. The old pumping plant at the Dunn mine creek is being operated again to provide water for the Dunn mine. Last fall, when the water pipe was extended from Crystal Falls to the Carpenter, the Dunn pipe was connected to the city water supply. Recently a break in the line necessitated starting up the independent plant again. [DD-1916-0129]

1916. Joe Leonard took a "health hike" last Tuesday. He walked out beyond the Dunn mine so as to catch the [horse-drawn] rig which comes in each day for the children attending high school. Joe says that his health is all right but he is taking on weight and must reduce, whereas Alex Masty rises to remark that a judicious selection of patent medicines from the corner drug store would do Joe more good. [DD-1916-0226]

1916. The new switching arrangement entered into last year between the Milwaukee and the North-Western roads is in effect in the Crystal Falls District. By virtue of this arrangement the MILW switches all of the cars for the Tobin, Dunn and Carpenter mines and the C&NW all cars for the Balkan and Judson mines (near Alpha). 

The C&NW empties for the Tobin, Dunn and Carpenter are pulled to the Odgers junction where they are left in the yard and a Milwaukee engine picks them up and distributes them to the respective mines. When they are loaded, the MILW engine hauls them back to the place where they were secured and there they are left for the C&NW engine.

The ore business is very heavy in the Carpenter district and the indiscriminate running back and forth of different road crews would certainly result in many collisions. The MILW is maintaining seven engines here to handle the business and the C&NW has fully as many. The arrangement on the MILW is somewhat different than on the C&NW. On the latter road, there is a yard master and switch men, but with the MILW all employees are in the train service, the crews shooting right out for Channing as soon as their trains are made up. [DD-1916-0429]

1919. July. The city (Crystal Falls) fire truck was sent to the Dunn mine where the engine house had been set a fire from sparks from the steam shovel. The fire had gained but little headway, but there was a very high wind blowing and the men thought best not to take any chances, so the truck was asked for. The truck made excellent headway on the trip and at some points made 40 miles per hour. [DD-1919-0726]