Pittsburg and Isle Royale

 



By: Lawrence Rakestraw


Poor rock pile, Pittsburg and Isle Royale, Rakestraw collection, ISRO Archives.


T

his company, incorporated in Pittsburg about 1846, began its mining activities in 1847 in the Todd Harbor area. In that year two log cabins and a blacksmith shop were erected, and nine men worked on a shaft near the shore. The following year they made other explorations, mostly near the shore, but one about a mile south of the shore. Here they reached a depth of 225 feet and then found the pumps unable to cope with the water. By 1849 they struck profitable veins, mostly mass and barrel-work, near the lake and later had 25 men employed and a stamp mill under construction. Their last year of recorded production was 1853; they apparently closed operations because of the isolated location and lack of protection from northerly gales.



Citation:



  1. Rakestraw, L., United States., & Isle Royale Natural History Association. (1965). Historic mining on Isle Royale. Houghton, Mich.: Isle Royale Natural History Association in cooperation with the National Park Service.