General Info
In 1871, Prof. Raphael Pumpelly of Harvard University, possibly the first professionally trained mining engineer in the United States, discovered iron ore in what would later become Gogebic County. He came to this iron range by sailboat and then traveled 20 miles south by land to the site in Ironwood near the abandoned gas plant. After establishing camp in tents, Pumpelly noticed yellow stains on rocks. After this discovery, he and his financial backers purchased two miles, which in later years became the site of the Newport and Geneva iron mines. The population of Gogebic is over 16,000 and the county seat is Bessemer.
