Mine: Florence Mine, Florence, WI


Began → Florence Mine → Became

From: 

Owned by: 

Produced: Iron Ore

Method: 

Railroad connection:

Stamp Mill/Pellet Plant:

Until: 

Lifetime Production: 


Notes


Time Line

1890. Owned by the Schlesinger Syndicate, which also owns the Chapin, Iron River, Claire, Youngstown, Dunn and Armenia mines in the Menominee range. [DD-1890-0823]

1905Fire at the Florence Mine: During the first week of October, 1905, some old timbers at the collar of No. 2 shaft, Florence mine, Florence, Wis., were burned. Sparks from this fire ignited the cribbing in No. 1 shaft, a short distance away. From the cribbing the fire communicated to the pyriticblack slate in the hanging wall of the ore body. A great deal of inconvenience was experienced in fighting the fire, owing to the sulphurous fumes issuing from the opening, and it was not until some time during the week of October 16 that the shaft was finally filled with sand from a nearby pit. The mine records state that this fire started again in the spring of 1906, but no particulars are given. As work in the shaft was resumed in June of the same year it is presumed that the fire must have been out at that time. [FLS]

1911. Located on a hill northwest of the village of Florence, Wisconsin, covering the N. E. ¼ of S. E. ¼ and S. E. ¼ of N. E. ¼ of Section 20 and the N. W. ¼ of S. W. ¼ of Section 21 in Township 40 North, Range 18 East. The ore is a medium hard, red hematite. The formation is very wide; slightly bowed and folded. The ore occurs in large lenses of irregular shape. It is mined by the underhand stoping system, milling into raises from below. Floor pillars are left every second level which are afterwards blasted out. This leaves very large stopes some of which are 250 feet long, from 50 to 150 feet wide, and 200 feet high.

In the old part of the mine, these stopes are being filled with sand in order to mine the pillars which contain a large amount of good ore. The sand filling is done with a Bagley Steam Grader operated by three men. This grader handles more dirt in twenty-four hours than would be possible with a steam shove’ working under similar conditions. The tramming underground is done by three electric motors working on 500 volts, direct current. The deepest level is 670 feet. The main items of interest at the mine is the crusher plant which is a No. 7 Gates, set on a concrete foundation. The ore being elevated by means of a belt elevator and trammed to the stockpile with an electric motor in the winter time, in the summer time, the ore is emptied directly into the pockets from the elevator. The mine has been closed since the first of June, this year. Felix A. Vogel, 25 Broad street, New York city, is the general manager; E. S. Dickinson, superintendent, and Edward Larson, assistant superintendent. [LSMI-1911]

Bibliography

The following sources are utilized in this website. [SOURCE-YEAR-MMDD-PG]:

  • [AAB| = All Aboard!, by Willis Dunbar, Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids ©1969.
  • [AAN] = Alpena Argus newspaper.
  • [AARQJ] = American Association of Railroads Quiz Jr. pamphlet. © 1956
  • [AATHA] = Ann Arbor Railroad Technical and Historical Association newsletter "The Double A"
  • [AB] = Information provided at Michigan History Conference from Andrew Bailey, Port Huron, MI

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