Pittsburg & Isle Royale Mining Company

History

This 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.

(Rakestraw, 1965)