1865: Cliffs Shaft aka New Barnum Mine in Michigan

The Iron Cliffs Company was established in 1865 by a group of New Yorkers including Samuel J. Tilden. They obtained property in Marquette County (Ishpeming, Michigan) and opened their first mine, the Barnum Mine, in 1867. Two shaft, the "A" and "B" were sunk. The company obtained three more mine pits by 1870. In 1877, Iron Cliffs began exploratory drilling on this site overlooking Ishpeming. Drilling uncovered iron ore, and in 1879 the company opened the Cliffs Shaft, then known as the "New Barnum". A new boiler house and engine house were built on the site in the early 1880s.

Shafts: A and B
Cliffs_mine_a_b.jpg

In 1888, the name was changed from "New Barnum" to the "Cliffs Shaft."However, more changes were afoot: in 1891, the assets of the Iron Cliffs Company were merged with that of other iron companies in the area, including the Jackson Mine and the Cleveland Mine, to form the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company, with William G. Mather as president of the merged company. A new dry was built after a disastrous fire in 1901. The original timber headframes over the A and B shafts were replaced with concrete headframes in 1919; a larger modern "C" shaft and headframe was built in 1955.

cliff-mine_1.jpg

I understand that these concrete looking shafts A, and B were allegedly built in 1919. Both are apparently still standing and are a part of the Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum.

I have a feeling they could be lying to us.

The Cliff's Shaft Mine, ca. 1905. Vintage picture postcard, published by F. P. Tillson, Ishpeming.
1905_postcard_1.jpg

The official version states that the A, and B were built in 1919, yet in 1905 both appear to be fully erect. Additionally check out this ugly Shaft "C", built in 1955.

shaft_c_cliff_mine.jpg

Sources:


KD: I find these obelisk looking structures being too monumental for the alleged purposes. Did they really care about the design so much?
 
The Iron Cliffs Company was established in 1865 by a group of New Yorkers including Samuel J. Tilden. They obtained property in Marquette County (Ishpeming, Michigan) and opened their first mine, the Barnum Mine, in 1867. Two shaft, the "A" and "B" were sunk. The company obtained three more mine pits by 1870. In 1877, Iron Cliffs began exploratory drilling on this site overlooking Ishpeming. Drilling uncovered iron ore, and in 1879 the company opened the Cliffs Shaft, then known as the "New Barnum". A new boiler house and engine house were built on the site in the early 1880s.

Shafts: A and B
View attachment 4678
In 1888, the name was changed from "New Barnum" to the "Cliffs Shaft."However, more changes were afoot: in 1891, the assets of the Iron Cliffs Company were merged with that of other iron companies in the area, including the Jackson Mine and the Cleveland Mine, to form the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company, with William G. Mather as president of the merged company. A new dry was built after a disastrous fire in 1901. The original timber headframes over the A and B shafts were replaced with concrete headframes in 1919; a larger modern "C" shaft and headframe was built in 1955.

I understand that these concrete looking shafts A, and B were allegedly built in 1919. Both are apparently still standing and are a part of the Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum.

I have a feeling they could be lying to us.

The Cliff's Shaft Mine, ca. 1905. Vintage picture postcard, published by F. P. Tillson, Ishpeming.
View attachment 4676
The official version states that the A, and B were built in 1919, yet in 1905 both appear to be fully erect. Additionally check out this ugly Shaft "C", built in 1955.

Sources:


KD: I find these obelisk looking structures being too monumental for the alleged purposes. Did they really care about the design so much?
Actually, they did. William Gwinn Mather was the head of Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company and he wanted something that was aesthetically pleasing. The concrete headframes were built in 1919, there are many articles in the local paper of the time, the Iron Ore, that document its building. You point to a 1905 postcard as proof the headframes were not built in 1919, but the post card is not even the same mine. The postcard is of the Lake Angeline Mine, still in Ishpeming, but at least a mile from the Cliffs Shaft mine. I do agree that Cliffs "C" Shaft is ugly though.
 
In reference to the postcard, I have never been to the area, and had to rely on the available info from the linked website positioning itself as a “community of experts”.

A641E093-645C-4DBB-95DF-37824DAA264F.jpg


As far as printed texts go, it’s up to every individual observer what evidence to consider credible. Examples of questionable texts in contemporary to the events newspapers are numerous. Here are two examples in one article:
If you choose to believe stuff like this, this is entirely up to you.
 
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