Ancient native copper mines on Isle Royale named national landmark
Indigenous people mined copper 4,500 years ago on the Lake Superior island, using it for knives and spear tips. 2:00 pm, Feb. 5, 2021 ×
Rock rubble near sites on Isle Royale where Indigenous people mined for copper as far back as 4,500 years ago. The site has been named a national historic landmark. (Photo courtesy of National Park Service)
One of the oldest examples of Indigenous mining documented in North America, a series of small Isle Royale copper mines, has been designated an official National Historic Landmark.
Archaeological and historical evidence suggests copper mining activity by native groups at the Minong copper mine started at least 4,500 years ago and continued into the 1900s.
ABC 10/CW5
HOUGHTON Minong Mine Copper Mining District, part of Isle Royale National Park, has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL).
The designation celebrates the national significance of Indigenous and historic copper mining that occurred at the Minong Mine. Minong is the Ojibwe term for Isle Royale.
The NHL boundary covers over 200 acres and encompasses the Minong Mine archeological site and the McCargoe Cove occupation archeological site. The Minong Mine site includes both the Indigenous copper mining pit concentration and the historic remnants of the Minong Mining Company. The McCargoe Cove site includes both an Indigenous occupation and the remains of the historic village of Cove. Archaeological and historical evidence suggests copper mining activity by native groups started no less than 4500 years ago. Mining continued through the 1880s.