Manuscripts Collection
Edmund J. Longyear was born in Grass Lake, Michigan, November 6, 1864. After attending the University of Michigan for two years, he entered the office of his cousin, John Munro Longyear, Marquette, Michigan. He worked in John Munro Longyear's office for a few months and in 1886 became a rodman on the survey for the Marquette, Houghton and Ontonagon Railroad. In 1887 he became a timber and iron ore cruiser for Edward G. Kingsford. After this he entered the Michigan Mining School at Houghton, from which he was graduated in 1888. John Munro Longyear then hired him for test pitting on the Upper Peninsula's Gogebic Range and at Metropolitan, Michigan. He married Nevada Patten in 1890, the same year John Munro Longyear sent him to Minnesota to drill on his recently acquired lands. Between 1890 and 1901 Edmund J. Longyear centered his drilling activities on the Mesabi Range and made his home in Hibbing. During his drilling work he acquired interests in mineral leases and mineral lands.
In 1901, when he moved to Minneapolis, he left a local organization in Hibbing to manage the drilling and other business interests in northern Minnesota. Longyear & Hodge, a partnership formed in 1903 with John E. Hodge (Marquette, Mich.) took charge of the expanding business outside Minnesota. In 1911 he incorporated the E.J. Longyear Company to encompass all the drilling business and to manufacture diamond drills at Marquette. His interests in mineral lands, mines, mineral leases and townsites were reflected in other companies in which he was shareholder, officer, and director.
In the years between the incorporation of the E.J. Longyear Company and Edmund J. Longyear's retirement from the presidency in 1924, the company's business became world-wide. The scope of business continued to widen during the presidency of his son, Robert Davis Longyear, who retired in 1960 to become chairman of the board of directors. The company had drilling and shaft digging contracts, provided professional geological and mining engineering services, and sold drilling equipment in almost every state in the United States, including Alaska, as well as in Africa, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, China, Cuba, San Salvador, France, India, Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Venezuela. The minerals the company drilled for or analyzed were coal, gold, nickel, cobalt, copper, iron, pyrites, oil, molybdenum, bauxite, tungsten, manganese, asbestos, potash, salt, asphalt, lead, zinc, silver, titanium, sulphur, clay, marble, granite, aluminum, silica, quartzite, lithium, chromium, trona, phosphates, and barium. The company also did soil sampling and foundation testing.
As the activities became more complex and far-flung, the business organization was changed to meet new needs. The E.J. Longyear Exploration Company, incorporated in 1922, took charge of exploring and prospecting. The E.J. Longyear Manufacturing Company, incorporated in 1922, manufactured and sold diamond drills and other equipment. The E.J. Longyear Development Company, incorporated in 1922, took charge of shaft sinking, tunneling, and mine development. To the E.J. Longyear Company, as the parent, remained the function of supervising and coordinating corporate and financial matters and operating results for the three subsidiary companies. The Longyear Holding Company was incorporated in 1928 as a personal holding company, to own and manage the personal holdings of Edmund J. Longyear, including mineral lands and other investments, and to perform all keeping of records and execution of financial transactions.
The only foreign subsidiary was Canadian Longyear, Limited (North Bay, Canada), incorporated in 1931 during the period covered by these papers.
Sales agencies were as follows:
Austin Hoy and Company, Ltd., London, England
Atkins, Kroll & Company, Manila, Philippines, and San Francisco, Calif.
The Clarence L. Boyd Company, Ltd., Tulsa, Okla.
W. R. Grace & Company, New York, N.Y.
Brooks Equipment & Mfg. Company, also known as: Brooks-Payne-Osborne Equipment Company, Knoxville, Tenn.
J. P. Bonardi, 1775 Broadway, New York, N.Y.
Cia. Importadora de Maquinas, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Carolina Engineering Company, Charlotte, N. C.
J. F. Comer Company, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Dominion Distributors Company, St. John's New Foundland, Canada
The Dominion Construction Company, Wellington, New Zealand
The Denver Rock Drill & Machinery Company, Ltd. (or) The Denver Machinery Company, Ltd., Johannesburg, South Africa
H. W. Foester, Inc., El Paso, Tex.
Gildemeister, Meltzer, Ambor, Cia. Ltda., Santiago, Chile
International Machinery Company, Lima, Peru, Santiago, Chile, Antofagasta, Chile, Oruro, Bolivia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Kipp-Kelly, Ltd., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Lewis Brothers Company, Tulsa, Oklah.
Lynn Mac Cleod Engineering Supplies, Ltd., Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada
R. S. McClintock, Spokane, Washington
The Mine & Smelter Supply Company, Denver, Colorado, and Salt Lake City, Utah
Mine & Contractors Supply Company, Ltd., Birmingham, Ala.
Northern Commercial Company, Fairbanks, Alaska, Anchorage, Alas.
Perrault Brothers, Tulsa, Okla.
Jorge A. Perry & Alberto Lobo-Guerrero, Bogota, Columbia
John Rieckermann, Kobe, Japan
Purves E. Ritchie & Sons, Ltd., Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Salmon & Cowin, Birmingham, Ala.
Western Machinery Company, Ltd., Perth, Australia
The companies in which E.J. Longyear had interests as stockholder, officer, or director are as follows:
American International Corporation, New York. Incorporated in the early 1900s. Edmund J. Longyear was a stockholder. The business of the company consisted of investment and financing.
Bovey Company. Real estate, village lots in Bovey, Minnesota.
Brazilian Iron and Steel Company. Incorporated in 1910. Edmund J. Longyear was a stockholder. The business of the company consisted of exploration for and development of iron ore in Brazil.
The Cascade Corporation. Incorporated in 1908. Edmund J. Longyear was president from 1908 to 1932. The company was a "pool" for the development of ore bodies around Palmer, Michigan. In 1955 the properties were leased to Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company and other mining interests. Taconite operations were scheduled to begin in 1962.
Cascade Land Company. Incorporated in 1912. Edmund J. Longyear was a stockholder. The business of the company was ownership of certain lands in the vicinity of Palmer, Michigan, in particular, an undivided one-half interest in the fee of a 160-acre tract, which, with the other lands, was leased to the Cascade Corporation.
Cascade Mining Company. Incorporated in 1912. Edmund J. Longyear was a stockholder. The company was organized to carry on mining operations on the property of the Cascade Corporation, in particular the Isabella Mine, which shipped a total of 42,000 tons and closed down in 1920 due to unprofitable operation.
The Division Company, Minneapolis. Incorporated in 1913 by Edmund J. Longyear, John E. Hodge, Frank G. Jewett, Rollin N. Dow, Marshall E. Pearce. The business of the company was property acquisition and management.
Edmund Iron Company.
The Extension Company, Minneapolis. Incorporated in 1916 by Edmund J. Longyear, Frank G. Jewett, John E. Hodge, Marshall E. Pearce, Rollin N. Dow. The business of the company was acquiring title to land, land contracts, personal property, and stock of other corporations.
Falconbridge Lands, Limited. Incorporated in 1918 as a Canadian firm to take over the Sudbury nickel properties and other Canadian lands of the Minneapolis and Michigan Development Company. Fred B. Snyder was president. Edmund J. Longyear and E.J. Longyear Company recognized the possibility of buried nickel-copper deposits in the Sudbury, Ontario, nickel district and presented this possibility to Falconbridge Lands, Ltd. This was followed by diamond drilling which proved up a commercial ore body of approximately 6,000,000 tons. This was then submitted to Thayer Lindsley of Toronto and subsequently led to the organization of Falconbridge Mines, Ltd., now one of the leading nickel producers of the world.
First National Bank of Minneapolis. Edmund J. Longyear was a stockholder.
First Security and National Bank, Minneapolis. Edmund J. Longyear was a stockholder.
Judson Land Company, Chicago. Edmund J. Longyear was a stockholder. Incorporated in 1912. When exploration work was done on the lands of the Nevada Land Company, it was found that ore bodies existed on adjoining lands. The Judson Land Company was founded to take options on the lands and explore them. Fifty-year leases were taken out from the fee owners. The Mastodon property on the Judson lands was leased to the Balkan Mining Company. Other portions were leased to the Judson Mining Company.
Judson Mining Company, Chicago. Incorporated in 1913. Had an office in Crystal Falls, Michigan. Edmund J. Longyear was a stockholder. Operated mines on lands leased from the Judson Land Company.
Kearsarge Land Company. Incorporated January 26, 1906. E.J. Longyear was a director, 1906-1927.
Keewatin Mining Company, Hibbing, Minnesota. Incorporated July 16, 1912. E.J. Longyear was a director, 1912-1928.
Kona Iron Company, Minneapolis. Organized in 1929 by R. M. Bennett, E. J. Longyear and John R. Van Derlip to take title to certain mineral lands on the Cuyuna Range, Minnesota.
Longco Oil Corporation. Incorporated in 1916. Edmund J. Longyear was president. On the board of directors were Russell M. Bennett, Fred B. Snyder, Wilbur L. Ball, John E. Hodge, and Rollin N. Dow. Frederick Ayer was a large stockholder. The E.J. Longyear Company turned over to Longco for development properties with oil prospects and for exploration and development certain properties with oil possibilities. The E.J. Longyear Company held half of the common stock. P. W. Donovan was general manager.
Longyear Mesaba Land and Iron Company, Jackson, Michigan. Organized in 1887. Edmund J. Longyear was a stockholder; John Munro Longyear was president. The business of the company was dealing in timber and mineral lands and exploration of mineral lands.
Meriden Iron Company, Hibbing, Minnesota. Russell M. Bennett was secretary-treasurer and Oscar B. Warren, general manager. Incorporated September 15, 1903.
Minneapolis and Michigan Development Company, Minneapolis. Incorporated November 12, 1912 to own, lease, explore, and develop mineral properties in Minnesota, Michigan, and elsewhere in the United States and Canada. E. J. Longyear was a director, stockholder, and participant in exploration. The company was dissolved July 16, 1941.
Minneapolis Industries Association, Minneapolis. Organized in 1916 to promote an industrial area in Minneapolis. Edmund J. Longyear was a stockholder.
Molybdenum Products Corporation. Incorporated in 1917 to develop a molybdenum mine near Denver, Colorado. Edmund J. Longyear was a stockholder. General manager was M. S. McCarthy, Wilbur Ball and C. F. Clay were also heavily interested in the company. The E.J. Longyear Company became owner of the assets of the corporation in 1921.
Nashwauk Company.
Nevada Land Company, Chicago. Organized around 1911 to develop ore properties on the Menominee Range in Michigan, called the "Porter" Lands. It leased some of the property to the Judson Mining Company, other portions to the Balkan Mining Company and to the Nevada Mining Company. The company founded on its property the town of Alpha. President of the company was G. G. Hartley, secretary-treasurer was George F. Porter, vice president was H. H. Porter, and assistant secretary-treasurer was C. L. Buehl (1915).
Nevada Mining Company, Chicago. Organized in 1915 to develop the Amasa-Porter mine on lands of the Nevada Land Company. The officers were the same as those of the Nevada Land Company.
Sargent Land Company. Organized the townsite of Keewatin in Itasca county, Minnesota. Incorporated January 26, 1906. E. J. Longyear, a director, 1906-1927.
Southern Townsite Company.
Standard Rock Products Company. Rock aggregate and gravel company. Operated in California about 1918-1919. Discontinued because of unprofitable operation.
Standish Iron Company. Edmund J. Longyear was a stockholder.
Sutton Land Company.
Tri-State Development Company, Limited.
In addition to the companies in which he had a financial stake, Edmund J. Longyear was interested as a businessman in a large number of civic, trade, and professional, social, and other nonprofit organizations. Prominent among them were the following:
Aero Club of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
American Committee of Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Americanization)
American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, New York.
American Mining Congress, Washington, D. C.
American Petroleum Institute, New York.
Associated Charities, Minneapolis.
Automobile Club of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Trinity Baptist Church, Minneapolis.
Bureau of Legal Aid, Minneapolis.
Chamber of Commerce of the United States.
Civic League of Minnetonka, Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Council of Social Agencies, Minneapolis. (Also listed as Minneapolis Council of Social Agencies, Inc.) Edmund J. Longyear was member of the budget and distribution committee.
Diamond Core Drill Manufacturers Association. (company membership.)
Duluth Bethel Society, Duluth, Minnesota.
Excelsior Fruit Growers Association, Excelsior, Minnesota.
General Fresh Air Fund Committee, Minneapolis.
Infant Welfare Society, Minneapolis.
International Committee of the YMCA.
Iron County (Michigan) Welfare Association. (Purpose was prohibition.)
Juvenile Protective League of Hennepin County, Minneapolis.
Lafayette Club, Minneapolis.
Lake Superior Iron Ore Association, Cleveland, Ohio.
Lake Superior Mining Institute, Ishpening, Michigan.
Lowry Hill Improvement Association, Minneapolis.
Lowry Hill Protective Association, Minneapolis.
Machinery and Allied Products Institute, Chicago.
Maternity Hospital, Minneapolis.
Minikhada Club, Minneapolis.
Minneapolis Athletic Club.
Minneapolis Civic and Commerce Association.
Minneapolis Club.
Minneapolis Humane Society. (Social welfare, women and children.)
Minneapolis Industries Association.
Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts.
Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra.
Minneapolis Working Boys' Band Association.
Minnesota Anti-Saloon League, Minneapolis.
Minnesota Employers' Association, St. Paul.
Minnesota Game and Fish Protective League, Minneapolis.
Orchestral Association of Minneapolis.
Prohibition State Committee, Minneapolis.
Union City Mission, Minneapolis.
University of Michigan Alumni Association.
Voters' League, Minneapolis.
War Chest, Minneapolis. (World War I)
YWCA, Minneapolis.
In the 1950s the company began to expand its international operations with the opening of offices and manufacturing facilities in Europe, Mexico, Central America, Australia, Japan, and other places.
E.J. Longyear Company had from the beginning been a family-owned corporation. In 1964, however, a 25% stake in the company was sold to FACTS (Finance, Accounting and Technical Services), a holding company that controlled Boart International.
The name of the corporation was shortened to Longyear Company around 1970. In the mid-1970s Boart became the sole owner of the company, and Longyear became a manufacturer of diamond bits as well as a provider of contract drilling services.
Following a collapse in prices for base metals and in demand for minerals in the early 1980s--and a consequent decline in the company's business--a period of retrenchment set in. Longyear's Minneapolis plant was closed, and its operations transferred to its plant in North Bay, Ontario. The company then sought to diversify and broaden its base, and a series of corporate acquisitions were undertaken.
In 1988 the corporate headquarters was moved to Salt Lake City, Utah.
The collection contains no boxes numbered 169-536. These box numbers were eliminated in the course of a later reboxing project.
Annual reports and corporate newsletters are in the Minnesota Historical Society serials collection.
The Edmund Joseph Longyear and family papers, and a collection of genealogical data pertaining to the Longyear family, are in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.
Accession number: 7267; 7270; 7627; 7745; 14,919
A substantial number of financial records, numbered volumes 89-200, were culled in 1995 as part of a larger reappraisal project that focused on reducing the bulk of records from business collections.
Processed by: Lucile M. Kane, 1962; David B. Peterson, August 1995
Previously cataloged under the call number P980, this collection was reboxed sometime before 1995 resulting in a gap in box numbers.Additional gaps in box numbering also resulted from a weeding of financial records. There are no boxes numbered 169536, 551, and 553-567.
Catalog ID number: 09-00040399
The papers from 1885 through 1913 are filed chronologically, since they were in so chaotic a condition upon receipt that their original organization could not be retained.
From 1914 through 1920, the original order has been retained, but within each subject or author folder, the items have been filed chronologically. From 1921 through 1945 the order within each filing unit has not been changed, and they progress from the latest date to the earliest.
The overall filing system from 1913 to 1945 is alphabetical by year. Letters are filed either by the name of the signer, the organization he represents, or the individual or organization concerned in the correspondence. The filing system is not consistent. For example, in the P. W. Donovan file are letters written by Donovan as well as letters written to him; and in the Cuyler Adams file there are letters written about him as well as to and by him. Letters concerning the various companies in which Edmund J. Longyear was interested may be filed by the name of the company or by the name of the company official who is corresponding with him. At the end of each letter there is usually a miscellaneous file, arranged alphabetically. Many times there is duplication between the regular file and the miscellaneous. For example, there may be a Cuyler Adams file in its proper location in the alphabetical file, then several letters in the miscellaneous file. Too, a letter relating to the University of Michigan might be filed under U one instance, and M the next. Because of the complex and uneven organization, scholars are advised to note the box number in their citations.
The correspondence files have not been weeded. Thus a great deal of trivia is filed with matters of great importance.
Correspondence for the years 1885-1889 covers the period when Edmund J. Longyear was in his native state of Michigan, attending the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and the Michigan Mining School at Houghton; working on a survey crew for the Marquette, Houghton and Ontonagon railroad on the south shore of Lake Superior; cruising timber and iron under Edward R. Kingsford; and, in the employ of John Munro Longyear, working as a mining engineer at Watersmeet and Metropolitan, Michigan, where he sank test pits on the Gogebic Range. Most of the letters for this period are from John Munro Longyear to Edmund J. Longyear. They contain information on John Munro Longyear's attempts to secure employment for Edmund J. Longyear; Edmund J. Longyear's education; John Munro Longyear's plan to offer a prize for papers on mining and geology; photography; family news; directions and information on test pits, options on mineral lands, and supplies. There is an invoice for a drill shipped to Edmund J. Longyear by the Diamond Prospecting Company, Chicago, enumerating the parts of the drill, and letters offering carbon and other supplies from the Millie Iron Mining Company and others. There are also letters to Edmund J. Longyear from M. E. Wadsworth, Michigan Mining School, with comments on Minnesota geology, and letters to Edmund J. Longyear from John Munro Longyear with references to plans for explorations in Minnesota.
In 1890 Edmund J. Longyear and his assistant, Fred Mitchell, went to the Mesabi Range in
Minnesota to explore lands acquired in 1887 by the Longyear Mesaba and
Iron Company. The papers for 1890 have information on arrangements with
the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad Company for a switch at Mesaba (now a
ghost town) for unloading coal and the purchase by Edmund J. Longyear of rights to cut
wood on the company's lands; recruiting a labor force; securing supplies
and equipment; leasing additional land; instructions and guidance from
John Munro Longyear regarding the work; drilling operations; family news, including
Edmund J. Longyear's marriage; and Edmund J. Longyear's assignment as Mesabi correspondent for the
The correspondence for the 1893-1901 period covers most of the years Edmund J. Longyear lived in a camp on the Mesabi Range and in the village of Hibbing. There is information about supplies; work progress; drilling instructions; options and leases on mineral lands; contracts for drilling for John Munro Longyear, Russell Bennett, and the Pillsburys as individuals or as partners; explorations for or inquiries concerning explorations from Leonard Day, A. M. Chisholm, Martin B. Koon, Ezra Rust, M. H. Alworth, Wright, Davis & Company, O. D. Kinney, Mahoning Ore and Steel Company, Chester A. Congdon, Oliver Iron Mining Company, Eastern Railway Company of Minnesota, the Bank of Montreal, J. S. Mundy, G. G. Hartley, the Niles Land Company, Henry Nienstedt, Arthur Hill and Company, Frank J. Hecker, George E. Tener, George L. Chesebrough, A. B. Robinson, Great Northern Railway, Charles R. Haines, H. F. Brown, T. D. Merrill, J. L. Washburn, M. S. Rutherford, Dwight B. Woodbridge, John P. Morrow, J. B. Adams, John Helmer, G. H. Warren, L. W. Hill, the North American Iron Company, and Drake Bartow & Company.
There is also information on laboratories offering assaying services; the townsite of Biwabik; job applicants; construction of the Edmund J. Longyear home in Hibbing; the townsite of Hibbing; the Pillsbury addition to Hibbing; civic affairs in Hibbing, particularly schools; activities of the alumni of the Michigan Mining School; family news; minerals in other parts of the nation, such as gold mines near Custer, South Dakota and copper and gold mining in Montana; the Tri-State Development Company (Limited) of Michigan, of which Edmund J. Longyear was field manager; lands of the "Merritt Pool" in which John Munro Longyear had an interest; gold mining properties of A. B. Upton near Rat Portage; general news of developments on the Minnesota iron ranges, economic conditions in the iron industry, and the quality of Minnesota ores; European travels of G. G. Hartley; affairs of the American Institute of Mining Engineers; Edmund J. Longyear's report on "Explorations on the Mesabi Range"; R. M. Bennett's mineral properties in Ashland, Oregon; affairs of the Electric Metal Locating Company, of which John Munro Longyear was one of the organizers; and insurance. There are quite a few letters from Edmund J. Longyear, written when he was absent from his Hibbing office. The rest of the correspondence consists of letters to Edmund J. Longyear, addressed to him largely at his Hibbing office, and letters sent to him as enclosures.
The papers for the 1902-1913 period consist of correspondence and accounts, as well as reports on productivity of mines and status of various drilling operations. The correspondence from 1902 to 1904 is for the most part incoming letters. Beginning in 1904 and continuing throughout the period carbon copies of outgoing letters are included.
The collection continues to embrace both personal and business matters. The personal papers have information on the Longyear family's religious life (Baptist); political campaigns (local, state, and national); requests for support by religious, charitable, cultural, and political organizations both on the range and in Minneapolis, where the family made its home after 1901; activities of various members of the Longyear family (travel, education, health, etc.); furnishing the Longyear homes in Minneapolis and at Lake Minnetonka; the experience of friends in exploring and mining operations in various parts of the world (see particularly letter dated January 2, 1904 regarding mineral explorations in the Philippines); the Lake Superior Mining Institute; the Michigan College of Mines; the American Institute of Mining Engineers; and a proposal by Lord Murray to bore diamond drill holes in the bottom of the ocean to get information about the earth's crust (see John Munro Longyear to Edmund J. Longyear, May 13, 1911; Edmund J. Longyear to Alfred C. Lane, May 15, 1911; Lane to Edmund J. Longyear, May 19, 1911, Dec. 16, 1912).
The papers document the activities of several business organizations which Edmund J. Longyear owned, managed, or had an interest in. Prominent among them were two exploration companies. E.J. Longyear, Mining Engineer, continued the work in Minnesota and spread its activities from the Mesabi to include all the other ranges as well. Longyear & Hodge, a firm in which John E. Hodge was Longyear's partner, was organized in 1903 (?) to perform all work outside Minnesota. The two firms operated until 1911, when all exploring operations were consolidated into the E.J. Longyear Company. The two companies explored or investigated mineral lands in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, Illinois, Kentucky, Wyoming, and Canada.
The papers relating to mineral explorations contain a vast fund of information ranging from matters of policy to petty operational details. Included is data on supplies and equipment; construction of an office building in Hibbing; instructions on drilling operations from clients and progress reports from workmen in the field; applications for positions; inquiries from individuals and companies planning to buy mineral lands about the mineral resources of various areas; experiments with an electric locating device; and analyses of ores.
Among the individuals and firms who engaged the Longyear companies to drill, explore, or study mineral lands in this period were the following:
Adams, David T.; Algoma Iron Mining Company; Bennett, Russell M.; Bovey-DeLaittre Lumber Company; Bradford Mining Company; Bradley, C.H.; Buffalo and Susquehanna Iron Company; Canisteo Mining Company; Chemung Iron Company; Cherry Valley Iron Company; Chisholm, A.M.; Clarke, Hopewell; Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company; Cliff Mining Company; Congdon, Chester A.; Crosby, George H.; Croxton Mining Company; Day (J.W.) & Company; Drake, Bartow & Company; Drake & Stratton Company; Eastern Railway Company of Minnesota; Eaton Bros.; Elizabeth Iron Company; Fay, George A.; Fay, Marcus L.; Florence Iron River Company; Great Northern Iron Ore Prop.; Haines, Chas. R.; Hanna (M.A.) Company; Hartley, G.G.; Hill, Louis W.; Hovland, H.B.; Humphreys, W.Y.; Hunter Mining Company; International Harvester Company; Iron King Mining Company; Iroquois Iron Company; Kerr & Kerr; King, Owen; Lake Erie Ore Company; La Rue Mining Company; Lake Superior Powder Company; Leetonia Mining Company; Leopold, Nathan F.; Little, Henry A.; Little & Prindle; Mahoning Ore and Steel Company; Miller, A.M., Jr.; Minneapolis Threshing Machine Company; Minnesota Iron Company; Mississippi Land Company; Morrison, Clinton; Morrow, John P.; New Jersey Zinc Company; Niles Land Company; North American Iron Company; Northwestern Improvement Company; Ohl, Edwin M.; Oliver Iron Mining Company; Onondaga Iron Company; Orelands Mining Company; Philbin, D.M.; Pickands, Mather and Company; Pillsbury, Bennett and Longyear; Pillsbury Estate; Pitt Iron Mining Company; Provident Life and Trust Company; Robinson, A.B.; Rogers, Brown and Company; St. Paul Iron Mining Company; Sauntry, William; Sellwood, Joseph; Smith and Wyman; Spry, John C.; Simmons, Parke; Sutherland, George C.; Tener, George E.; Vermillion Pine and Iron Land Company; Wahl (T.W.) and Company; Walker, Archie; Walker, Thomas B.; Wanless Iron Company; Warren, G. H.; Washburn, William D., Jr.; Washburn Lignite Coal Company; West Missabe Land Company; Wisconsin Pine Land Company; Woodbridge, Dwight E.
In addition to exploring, drilling and studying mineral lands for others, Edmund J. Longyear acquired an interest in various mineral lands and leases for himself and partners. Chief among his associates in these transactions were John Munro Longyear and Russell M. Bennett.
Other companies in which Edmund J. Longyear was interested were the Longyear Mesaba Land and Iron Company (with John Munro Longyear and others); the Meriden Iron Company; the Kearsarge Land Company; the Sutton Land Company; the Sargent Land Company; the Nevada Land Company; the Edmund Iron Company.
Edmund J. Longyear's correspondence with his clients and his associates in the various companies in which he had an interest reveal a great deal of peripheral information about the iron ore and steel industries as well as about the main business at issue in each relationship. There is data on general economic conditions in the industry, state iron ore leases, iron ore taxation in Minnesota, production of the various mines, transactions in mineral lands on the Minnesota ranges, and royalties paid on various leases. Of interest too are the letterheads of the many small iron ore companies in Minnesota, as well as those in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.
Edmund J. Longyear was interested in the development of various townsites in northern Minnesota: the Pillsbury Addition to Hibbing; the Southern Addition to Hibbing; Nashwauk; Bovey; Keewatin; and Chisholm. The correspondence relating to the townsites includes information on platting; organization of the several townsite companies; company profits; the sale of lots; civic affairs; elections; local politics; governmental organization; taxation; schools, streets, water plants, street improvements, and other public works; and requests by inhabitants of the townsites to the proprietors for gifts to churches and other organizations.
Among those associated with Longyear in the several townsite companies were M. H. Alworth, R. M. Bennett, Joseph Sellwood, G. G. Hartley, O. D. Kinney, E. B. Hawkins, A. B. Coates, W. J. Moore, C. E. Moore, Marshall E. Pearce, Bovey-DeLaittre Lumber Company, Alfred F. Pillsbury, Kearsarge Land Company, and Longyear Mesaba Land and Iron Company.
The alphabetical-by-year filing system, which begins in 1914, includes the major units listed below. The list is not complete. It encompasses only the names of correspondents and subjects (individuals and organizations) that occur frequently in the files. Since the listing is not complete, searchers looking for data should not rule out the possibility that it is present in the collection even though it does not appear here. The exact location of the files listed below cannot be given, but, whenever possible, alternate filing possibilities are indicated.
Sometimes the federal file includes data on state offices, but files for each state are usually under the name of the state.
The filing arrangement is alphabetical by the name of the person making the report. See also box 167 for a small group of reports that postdate these.
Incorporated in 1902 by Edmund J. Longyear, Joseph Sellwood, Frank Jewett to deal in real estate and mineral leases and explore lands for iron ore. The records consist of the following: articles of incorporation and bylaws; stock certificates; trial balances (1902-1928); sales reports (1902-1916); and miscellaneous, including minutes, deeds, letters, and other papers re: platting the townsite of Nashwauk, organizing a school district, mineral reservations, and inventories of lots sold.
Incorporated by Edmund J. Longyear, Frank Jewett, and Marshall E. Pearce in 1904 to deal in real estate and mineral leases and explore for iron ore. Founded the townsite of Bovey. The papers consist of the following: sales reports (1904-1925, not complete); trial balances, 1905-1928 (not complete); deeds and agreements (1904-1922); and articles of incorporation and papers relating to incorporation.
Stock certificates, leases, agreements, assignments, claim notifications, and stock lists.
A plat of Aurora. Second Division: and legal papers, including receipts for deeds, lists of lots sold, agreements and an affidavit.
Contracts, agreements, letters concerning contracts and liquidation papers.
Articles of incorporation (1912) and bylaws of the Judson Land Company; bylaws of the Judson Mining Company; financial reports of, Judson Mining Company (1914-1915) and Judson Land Company (1914-1915); leases, agreements, indentures, and miscellaneous legal papers (1912-1916); and reports to the stockholders of the two companies as well as the Nevada Land Company and Nevada Mining Company.
Articles of incorporation and bylaws (1909) of the Nevada Land Company; bylaws of the Nevada Mining Company; reports (1908-1911); and miscellaneous legal papers (1909-1916).
Annual reports and financial statements.
Annual reports and financial statements.
Annual reports and financial statements.
Financial statements.
Articles of incorporation (1913); stock certificates; and miscellaneous legal papers.
Articles of incorporation (1916); promissory notes (1916-1920); stock certificates; and miscellaneous legal papers (1914-1920).
Includes: Longyear Holding Company, E.J. Longyear Manufacturing Company, E.J. Longyear Company, E.J. Longyear Exploration Company, E.J. Longyear Development Company, and Longco Oil Corporation.
Drilling contracts, agency agreements, option agreements, mineral leases, royalty agreements, land sales (indentures, deeds), and papers created in the process of lawsuits.
Newspaper clippings relating to railroad building in the Minnesota iron range country; discovery of iron ore at Aitkin, Minnesota and at other locations; protest against the incorporation of Deerwood, Minnesota; iron ore transportation rates; state claims to ore beneath lake beds; development of the Cuyuna Range; the manufacturing plant of Longyear & Hodge; mining machinery; incorporation of iron mining and related companies; the Higbee Iron Company, St. Paul; the Rogers-Brown Ore Company's operations on the Cuyuna; the town-sites of Crosby, Ironton and Oreland; operations of the Ogle Iron Development Company of Duluth, around Brainerd; operations of the Brainerd Mining Company near Brainerd; Longyear drilling on the Vermillion Range; Iron Mountain Mining Company operations on the Mesabi and Cuyuna; Cuyuna-Mille Lacs Iron Company operations on the Cuyuna; William C. White of Milwaukee and his Minnesota iron interests; Martin Exploration Company drilling near Brainerd; Aloha Iron Mining Company (Minneapolis) operations on the Cuyuna; litigation of many kinds; Great Northern Iron Ore Properties; operations of the Mangan Iron and Steel Company (Duluth) on the Cuyuna; Coleman and McDonald Exploration Company drilling agreements; Brainerd-Cuyuna Mining Company operations at Brainerd; gold discovery near Northome; and the production, taxation, and history of the ranges.
Armstrong served as a geologist (1941-1953), chief geologist and mining engineer (1953-1973), and consulting geologist and mining engineer (1973-). He apparently was also something of a company historian.
These files include consulting reports on mineral exploration and other projects in the United States and abroad.
Subject files contain biographical data (about Armstrong), information about nickel deposits in northeastern Minnesota, and a report on a 1972 trip to the Soviet Union by a group of Longyear people.
Stanton, Pittelkow, Bann, and Associates, Inc. consultant's report regarding Longyear office organization, operations, and procedures.
Mining and metallurgical consultants. LCA did some consulting with them.
History files include information about Edmund J. and Robert D. Longyear, the history of the company, and the development of Longyear's first Mesabi Range drill site into an historic site.
Chapter 4 of Part 2 of a history of Longyear. Photocopy of an annotated typed manuscript by Lee C. Armstrong.
Includes information about the "Longyear Historical Site Project," a recreation of the drill site near Hoyt Lakes, Minn.
Typed transcript.
"An outline of services and equipment which E.J. Longyear Company supplies in the appraisal, exploration, development and operation of mineral resources."
Donovan was for many years manager of Longyear's Contract Drilling Division (1916-1947). After retiring in 1947 he served the company as a consulting engineer (1947-1973). He was also a director (1916-1972) and a vice president (1940s).
Directors' files include miscellaneous financial information about the company, memoranda to and from other company officials, divisional annual reports, information about certain subsidiary and related companies, and biographical data about Longyear officers and directors.
Consultant's report.
Vice President.
Japanese subsidiary.
RDL's summer home/retreat at Two Harbors, Minn.
Consultant's report.
Consulting files document Donovan's consultations (on behalf of Longyear) with and negotiations between owners of surface and mineral rights, mining companies, mining engineers, prospectors, investors and speculators, and others with regard to mineral exploration, mineral resources and their evaluation and appraisal, surface sales, and mining possibilities on lands on the Mesabi, Cuyuna, and Gogebic iron ranges. Most of these consultations have to do with exploration for iron ore, copper, nickel, gold, and uranium, although there are other sorts of projects as well.
On Swan River, section 26-56-23 and 35-56-23.
Section 28-56-24, Itasca County.
Maps.
Pat Butler and Associates, St. Paul.
Section 18-55-25, Itasca County.
Cuyuna Range.
Aitkin County.
Section 20-46-25.
Section 23-47-29.
Possible copper-nickel mining near Ely, Minn.
Mineral exploration.
Assistant general counsel for the Great Northern Railway Company.
Section 2-55-25.
Section 2-55-25.
L. J. Severson.
Also includes information about a project in British Honduras.
Sections 18-55-25 and 35-56-25, Itasca County.
Walker family.
Near Hoyt Lakes, St. Louis County, Minn.
Sections 4, 5, 8, and 9, T54 R26, Itasca County.
Member of the Walker family. File includes information about Barlow Realty Company iron rights.
Mining of oil shale.
Attorney at Bovey, Minn.
See also Barlow Realty Company, above.
Section 18-55-25, Itasca County.
T54 R26, T55 R26, and T54 R27.
Section 13-55-26, Itasca County.
Section 34-55-26.
The "Walker-Hill Group" was formerly the mining interests in Barlow Realty Company.
Sections 17-56-23 and 18-56-23.
"To accompany letter dated November 8, 1950."
Sections. 3, 4, and 5 of T58 1/2 R17.
Subject files include correspondence and memoranda, clippings, information about the history and development of diamond drilling, biographical data (about Donovan), and some trip reports. There is financial and other information about the E.J. Longyear Company, and annual reports, minutes, and other material from and relating to the Longyear Holding Company.
In 1915 Donovan was a member of Brainerd's Water and Light Board. Correspondence in this file concerns his involvement in drilling at that time for a source for the municipal water supply.
Includes Longyear World Bulletin No. 6 (1958) which concerns use of underground nuclear blasts in mining operations.
Vice President.
Includes information about diamond drilling, the first diamond drill hole on the Mesabi Range, and a historical sketch of the EJL Company
Engineering consultant for Longyear.
Sections 10-43-32 and 11-43-32.
Includes annual reports, correspondence and memoranda, financial information, directors' and stockholders' minutes; primarily concerned with liquidation/dissolution of the company.
T135 R27, T138 R26.
See oversize items, box 168.
Senior geologist forthe E.J. Longyear Company Mining-Geological Division.
University of Minnesota.
Roberts was a geologist once associated with E.J. Longyear Company.
Canadian Longyear Ltd.
Consists mostly of geologic and other maps of the Mesabi, Cuyuna, and Gogebic iron ranges. There is also a sheet of printed illustrations of Longyear Diamond Core Drills, and a set of blueprint maps/diagrams of the Longyear Mine at Hibbing (Minn.).
Scale: 1:62,500.
Scale: 1" = 40'.
"Checkings of C. E. Lyman, 813 Lbr. Exchange."
By C. R. Van Hise and R. D. Irving.
Wisconsin Central Railway Company.
J. M. Longyear, Land Agent, Marquette, Mich.
Shows towns and mines along the Wisconsin Central in the Iron Belt (Wis.) - Wakefield (Mich.) area.
T43-52, R38-49. The Keweenaw Association, Ltd., J. M. Longyear, Land Agent.
T47-51, R42-49. J. M. Longyear, Marquette, Mich.
Shows land controlled by J. M. Longyear
Shows property controlled by Cuyuna-Duluth Iron Company.
Shows property controlled by Cuyuna-Sultana Iron Company.
State of Minnesota, Department of Conservation. Annotated.
U.S. Geological Survey map; geology compiled by C. R. Van Hise and C. K. Leith.
L. E. Paddack, Lake Superior Land Industries.
State of Minnesota, Department of Conservation. Annotated.