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The Paulson Mine is a former iron ore mine located in Cook County, Minnesota, 53 kilometres north-west of Grand Marais, Minnesota near the end of the historic Gunflint Trail. The Port Arthur, Duluth and Western Railway was built to the mine in 1892 to access the ore, but both the mine and railway failed. ==Early History== The existence of iron bearing rocks in the Gunflint Lake area was first mentioned as early as 1850.〔Frank Holmes Minnesota in Three Centuries Vol 4 Mankato, MN: Publishing Society of Minnesota, 1908 p.381-382〕 Eventually these deposits would be linked to the famous Mesabi Iron Range and this eastern portion which extended into Ontario became known as the Gunflint Range.〔Ontario Department of Mines Annual Report 1892-1894 Vol. 2-4 Toronto: Warwick Bros & Ruffer, 1893 p. 67-69〕 Conclusive evidence of the quality of iron in the area would not come until 1886 when Grand Marais pioneer Hazael “Henry” Mayhew made discoveries at the western end of the lake.〔Willis Raff. Pioneers in the Wilderness Grand Marais, MN: Cook Cty Historical Society, 1981 p.147-156〕 This then attracted the attention of investors in the state capital. In late 1886 an enterprise known as the American Realty Company was incorporated in Minnesota. Several of its promoters had ties to the recently established State Bank of Minneapolis, namely John Paulson and Kristian Kortgaard.〔St. Paul Globe January 6, 1887〕〔St. Paul Globe July 30, 1885〕〔St. Paul Globe May 16, 1886〕 With financial backing from the bank, the American Realty Company would purchase large tracts of land in Township 65, Range 4 West (T65, R4W) of Cook County. Later in 1892, Paulson and Kortgaard, along with Orrin D. Kinney of Ely would incorporate the Gunflint Lake Iron Company to mine the iron deposits.〔Raff, Pioneers in the Wilderness p.147-156〕〔Gunflint Lake Iron Company Articles of Incorporation. Index of Corporations, 1:274, A-J, State of Minnesota Archives, Minnesota Historical Society〕 The mine required an outlet for its ore, and that would be provided by a Canadian line, the Port Arthur, Duluth and Western (PAD&W). Originally chartered in 1883 as the Thunder Bay Colonization Railway, the line changed its name and route in 1887 to tap the iron deposits of the Gunflint Range. Construction began in 1889, and by 1892 the rails had been laid to the Canadian terminus at Gunflint Lake and work had begun across the boundary. A US charter was obtained, known as the PAD&W of Minnesota, to allow construction to the mine and eventually to Ely to link with the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad. Work was completed in late 1892 and the line was opened for traffic in January 1893. Explorations in T65, R4W began sometime in 1888, but really did not gather much steam until the railway began to approach the area in 1891. Work was concentrated in sections 28 and 29, three and a half miles southwest of the Gunflint Narrows. Numerous test pits were dug to ascertain the quality of the ore, and eventually three timber-lined mine shafts were completed. The principle shaft, the “Paulson Mine,” was located in the northeast quadrant of section 28 and was approximately one hundred and five feet deep.〔Holmes, Minnesota in Three Centuries p.381-382〕〔Ontario Department of Mines, Annual Report 1892-1894 Vol. 2-4 p. 67-69〕〔Raff, Pioneers in the Wilderness p.147-173〕〔W. Emmons & F. Grout. Mineral Resources of Minnesota #30 University of Minnesota Geological Survey Minneapolis: University of Minn Press, 1943 p.22-23〕〔U.S. Grant. Geology of the Akeley Lake Plate Geology of Minnesota Vol IV St. Paul: Pioneer Press, 1899 p.461-480〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Paulson Mine」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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