ELY — More than 250 people gathered Sunday at the historic Pioneer Mine to dedicate the Ely Miners Memorial, a granite monument more than two decades in the making that honors the 218 men who died working Ely’s iron ore mines.
The June 14 dedication brought together descendants of the miners, local officials, and community members to mark the completion of a project that started raising funds in 2008. The memorial’s granite panels list each miner by name and age, alongside the mine where he died. The deaths span from 1889, when the first of those men did not come home from work, through decades of Iron Range mining operations.
State Rep. Roger Skraba was among those who spoke at the ceremony.
“Our forefathers carved a community out of the wilderness, and we continue to keep it viable,” Skraba said. “Some of these men died to make this a reality.”
Councilor Al Forsman served as acting mayor and gave remarks on behalf of the city. Mayor Heidi Omerza was out of town visiting relatives.
“This long-overdue memorial will be dedicated to the 218 miners that died in Ely’s mines during the 83 years of local mining operation,” Forsman said. “These mines provided the ore that built America, and it was critically important to defending the free world in two world wars. It’s truly important that these brave souls’ names are etched in stone to be remembered for their significant contributions to the American story.”
Forsman later told the city council the event was meaningful. “It was a wonderful event. It was a heartfelt event,” he said. “I know there was a great turnout, and I don’t know anyone that felt that time wasn’t probably the most important part of their week.”
Getting every name right required years of painstaking research. Michelle Lammi was among the volunteers who combed through old newspaper records, visited cemeteries, and tracked down genealogy records and death certificates to verify spellings, ages, and the circumstances of each death.
“Many of the news articles about these deaths were unpleasant to read,” Lammi said. “Men fell down holes. Drifts collapsed. Many were killed by getting caught between train cars, and by explosions.”
The saddest case she uncovered was that of a boy named Charlie, 12 years old, who died in May of 1901. He had been playing at the mine with his older brother when he fell 500 feet to his death.
The Ely Arts and Heritage Center spearheaded the memorial project, which draws on the labor of volunteers who worked to ensure the record was as complete and accurate as possible.
The memorial cost $50,000, with the city and IRRR both contributing $15,000. The rest of the money came from donations.