Iron Frontier: The Discovery and Early Development of Minnesota's Three Ranges

by David Allan Walker

David A. Walker tells the story of the opening of the last iron- ore frontier in the United States on the Vermilion, Mesabi, and Cuyuna ranges of Minnesota--the nationâ s largest ore deposits. Walker explores the formative years from the 1880s to the early 1900s in the development of the stateâ s mining industry, the â iron menâ it produced, the new towns it spawned, and the railroads it built to transport the new-found wealth to growing ports on Lake Superior. Drawing on manuscripts, newspaper accounts, and business and financial records, Walkerâ s study provides an economic history of an industry whose dimensions reached far beyond the borders of Minnesota.

315 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1979