![]() Records from this time are hard to come by and so it is unknown exactly how much copper was mined during this time. These miners were paid average wages of the time: $1 a day for a ten-hour day and later $2 for the same amount of time. The inhabitants of the town were miners and their families. All buildings in the town were owned by the mining company, including the school, general store, and houses. ĭuring this time, the village near the mine site, Victoria, grew to eighty houses. In fact, the Mines Register reported that the Victoria was "placed in a position to handle rock of lower average grade than perhaps any other mine in the Lake Superior district". Once running, the Taylor Air Compressor was able provided the Victoria Mine with an inexpensive power source which uniquely equipped the mine with the ability to extract the low grade ore. In 1904, Charles Havelock Taylor, a Canadian inventor, visited the site in order to build a hydraulic air compressor that would harness the water in the Ontonagon River. The Michigan Department of Mineral Statistics annual report in 1882 stated: "Among the important advantages which the property possesses is the water-power in the west branch of the Ontonagon river, about a mile south of the mine forty feet of head can be used here…If it shall be decided to systematically work the mine, the water-power in the west branch will undoubtedly be utilized to operate the machinery…". Even as early as 1882, the possibility of hydropower was discussed. Wood was hard to come by at that time and coal was expensive, so Hooper began to look into other energy sources. One of the first problems Hooper encountered was a lack of fuel. 1899-1921 īeginning in 1899, the Victoria Copper Mining Company started running the mine and Captain Hooper was hired to run the operation. Because of this, it was not until the end of the nineteenth century that the mine finally reopened. He concluded that a large investment would be needed in order for the mine to run again. Many of the tunnels and adits had collapsed and the support timbers were found rotted. In 1881, The former mining captain of the Nonesuch Mine, Thomas Hooper, assessed the state of the Victoria Mine and after pumping the water from the mine, he found it to be in disrepair. The company shipped the copper to Calumet, Michigan, where it was smelted. After 1855, the mine was operated sporadically for a number of years.ĭuring this period of time, estimates show that 200 to 250 tons of copper were mined from the Victoria. The first stamp mill was destroyed in a fire and the second washed away in a flood. The company experienced several disasters during this time. Eight years later, the company reorganized as the Victoria Mining Company. The Cushin Mine ran for about a year before the Forest Mine took over in 1850. In 1849, Christopher Columbus Cushing opened a mine not far from the area where Henry had attempted to dig. After this, the project was abandoned and the site remained empty for the next seventy years. The venture ultimately proved unsuccessful after the adit caved in due to the fact that they were mining into a river bank. ![]() In 1771, Alexander Henry the elder, an early British explorer, was sent to open a mine along the banks of the Ontonagon River where the boulder had been found. Originally discovered by missionaries, the boulder sparked the interest of British investors. Near this area was the location of a large piece of float copper, also known as the Ontonagon Boulder. Prehistoric mining pits indicate that the area was mined long before Europeans ever set foot in North America. Quartz, epidote, calcite, prehnite, and pumpellyite are also found in the rock. Most of the metal found there was low grade native copper from the Forest Lode. ![]() The mine operated off and on from 1849 until its final closure in 1921. It was near this location that a large piece of float copper, known as the Ontonagon Boulder, was found. The Victoria Mine is the name given to a series of copper mines located in Rockland Township, Ontonagon County, in Michigan's Copper Country. ![]()
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