Minnesota Museum Of Mining

Useful Information

Location:	West end of Chisholm's main street.
Open:	All year Mon-Sat 9-17, Sun 13-17. [2006]
Fee:	Adults USD 4, Children (5-17) USD 3, Children (0-4) free, Seniors USD 3.50, Students USD 3. [2006]
Classification:	Iron Mine Mining museum
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Minnesota Museum of Mining, 900 West Lake Street, Chisholm, MN 55719, Tel: +1-218-254-5543 or 218-254-3711.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1933	entrance built.

Geology

Description

The Minnesota Museum Of Mining, located at Chisholm, is specialized on the mining of the Mesabi Range's rich iron ore. It is not a show mine, but it has a so called replica of an underground mine. The whole museum is very kid-friendly, as it is a so-called hands on museum: children are allowed to touch the equipment, or even climb into the huge mining trucks and locomotives.

The smallest truck on display is a 1930 White dump truck, the biggest a WABCO Electrohaul, which has a capacity of 120 tons. A 1907 steam locomotive was the first major exhibit of the museum. It was donated to the museum in the early 1950s and dragged up the streets of Chisholm one winter. Atlantic Steam Shovels are huge shovels used in open cast mines to move huge amounts of rock. Six of these shovels, considered to be the fastest steam shovels ever made, were produced in 1910, one is now at the museum. Smaller equipment, from the early days until present, are on exhibit too. Diamond drills, mammoth rotary drills, and modern jet drills.

The open air museum has various historic buildings. A blacksmith shop, a broom factory, a shoemaker's shop, a print shop complete with linotype machine, and the mining office give impression of the daily work. A little red schoolhouse and a theater show the daily life. The theater houses a photo exhibition of early mining scenes.

One of the highlights is a huge Steam Railroad Diorama, which was created by the artist and naturalist F. Lee Jaques. In 1943 this model won the award "most outstanding miniature railroad exhibit in the USA" of the Model Railroader Magazine. The diorama shows an imaginary railroad which connects the Bay of the Wooly Mammoth to the Millennium Mine.

The underground mine drift is also a sort of diorama, but one in the ratio 1:1. It shows a typical mine tunnel with necessary equipment like drills and more