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The National Park Service has designated indigenous copper mines found on Isle Royale as an official National Historic Landmark.
Isle Royale National Park, or Minong, as it is known by the Ojibwe, is an archipelago of 450 islands in Lake Superior that sits about 14 miles from Grand Portage. Isle Royale is almost 46 miles long and nine miles wide, with an area of 206.73 square miles or 571,790 acres, making it the fourth largest lake island in the world.
Tracing the mines back at least 4,500 years, the National Historic site covers about 200 acres and includes the Minong Mine archeological site and McCargoe Cove. Archeologists found indigenous occupation and the remains of a historic village at McCargoe Cove that goes back at least 4,500 years.
Included in the designation is what is left of Minong Mining Co., which operated, from 1875 to 1885, and is one of several companies that operated briefly during that time.
Indigenous people used hand-held beach cobbles to get the copper from the bedrock, which was near the surface. However, archeologists found that miners had dug down more than 20 meters into bedrock in some places. They dated pits and the life of these small mines loosely by the found artifacts, which include cold-hammered copper spear points, knives, and ornaments. Researchers have found more than 1,000 pits located on Isle Royale, many along the Minong Ridge.
In a news release, Isle Royale Superintendent Denise Swanke said,
“This National Historic Landmark designation for the Minong Copper Mining District cements its stature as an exemplary archeological site. Indigenous mining activities figured prominently in the park’s 1931 enabling legislation and the district benefits from being in designated wilderness within a national park, which will help ensure retention of a high level of integrity.”
Lake Superior copper has been found as far away as New England.
In January 2019, Isle Royale National Park was given national historic designation. That designation specifically mentioned the importance the role the island plays in the lives of the Ojibwe and prehistoric peoples, and noted of the prehistoric mines and long human history on the islands.
According to the Isle Royale news release, “National Historic Landmarks are buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects that have been determined by the Secretary of the Interior to be nationally significant in American history and culture. All National Historic Landmarks are included in the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of the nation’s historic properties. Before resources can be designated as National Historic Landmarks, they must be evaluated by the National Park Service’s National Historic Landmark Survey, reviewed and recommended by the National Park System Advisory Board, and signed by the Secretary of the Interior.”
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