Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
On the north side of Ishpeming, two concrete headframes rise over the old Cliffs Shaft Mine. They are among the most recognizable landmarks in the county.
The mine
Cliffs Shaft was an underground mine that produced high-grade hard hematite ore for nearly a century, from the 1870s until it closed in 1967. The concrete headframes were built in 1919 and look a bit like Egyptian obelisks. They hoisted miners and ore from the shafts.
The company
The mine belonged to Cleveland-Cliffs, formed in 1891 by merging the Cleveland Iron Mining Company with the Iron Cliffs Company. Both had roots in the first decades of mining on the Marquette Range.
The company built towns, housing, hospitals and schools for its workers. It became one of the dominant forces in the Upper Peninsula’s economy and still operates the Tilden Mine.
The museum
Today the site is the Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum, run by volunteers. Visitors can see equipment, minerals and exhibits about the work underground.
For many families in Ishpeming and Negaunee, the museum tells the story of their grandparents’ jobs. It is also a reminder of how much the area’s economy still depends on iron.
