Minnesota Humanities Center

Iron Range: Building America

In 2008,The Minnesota Humanities Center set forth to create a documentary that would highlight the history and future of the Iron Range one that would broaden public knowledge and appreciation of the critical role that this 100-mile long, 10-mile wide strip of land has played and continues to play in the success of our nation.

Contact Us

Eden Bart

The Land

What is special about the Iron Range? What is iron used for? How did the Iron Range ensure the American position as a world power?

The Mines

What were working conditions like for the early miners? How is iron mined today? How has steel making changed over the past century?

The People

Who originally lived on the Iron Range? How many different groups of people came to work in the mines? What were sources of tension across racial and ethnic lines?

The Work

How did the working conditions in the mine contribute to the formation of Unions? What is the history of socialism on the Iron Range? What are the current politics of the Iron Range?