Edmund Longyear

Title: Article on Diamond Drilling on the Mesabi
Type: Newspaper
Date: August 22, 1903
Source: Mesaba Ore

Description: This article appeared in a tenth anniversary edition of the Hibbing newspaper. It describes Longyear's work with diamond drills on the Mesabi Range and their impact.
Read Transcription

Activities:

1. Why do you think it was important to Longyear's success that he had the first diamond drill in the area?
   
   
   
   
   Answer: Being the first to have a new technology in the industry was important. Since Longyear worked at first for his wealthy uncle, it is likely that he had access to the newest and highest quality equipment, which could be easily rented or contracted to other miners in the area for a fee.
2. Where might we go to look for more information about how a diamond drill worked?
   
   
   
   
   Answer: A diamond drill was a drill with dark diamonds built into it so that it would cut through most rock more cleanly and quickly than other drills. The Longyear company produced catalogs of its drills, and many mining resources list their use and information about them and how they worked.
3. How might this article help us find the buildings where Longyear's offices were located?
   
   
   
   
   Answer: The article lists the addresses of his offices over time, so a map of Hibbing could direct us to them. If the buildings ares till standing, we could visit Hibbing to see them. If the buildings are no longer there or the street names have changed, we could consult an old map of the city or photographs of the area to see theirlocation and appearance.
4. The article mentions that Longyear built an office "finished with plate glass and mahogany." What could that tell us about him and his success?
   
   
   
   
   Answer: Both of these items were only used in the houses and offices of the wealthy at this time, because they were expensive. This would suggest to us that Longyear had made a large amount of money in his business and was very successful.