Friends of the Plumer Mine Headframe
Pence, Wisconsin

Red Gold !

The Plumer Mine was one of hundreds of iron ore mines that dotted what is called the "Penokee-Gogebic Iron Range."  Iron was "red gold." Iron ore from mines like the Plumer was so rich that it didn't need any processing. It was direct shipped to steel mills in its elemental "rock" form.

 

What is a "Headframe?"

Headframes are large steel structures that spanned above the opening to an iron ore shaft mine. Cables running from an engine hoist house ran through the sheave wheels on top of the headframe and connected to elevator-like cars that were lowered into the mine. Cars that carried miners into the shaft were called "cages"  and those that hauled up iron ore from the shaft were called a "skips." Headframes had to high enough for enough cabling to reach from the hoist house deep into the mine. The Plumer was mined to a depth of 2300 feet and was considered a "smaller" mine.

​

It's a Connector

The Plumer Mine Headframe is more than just a cool 120 year old structure...it is a connector. During its operation, it physically connected miners to valuable iron ore resources they mined deep underground. Iron was this area's "red gold"  that supported their communities and families.

 

The Headframe connected this region to the world as iron ore from this mine was shipped by train and boat to steel mills to build a growing America.

 

The Headframe continues to connect us to region's iron mining history as we consider how we use the region's natural resources in the future.  

​

The Last One Standing

The Plumer Mine Headframe, sometimes misspelled "Plummer" or "Plumber", is Wisconsin's last remining iron mining headframe and the last of hundreds that dotted the landscape of the famous Penokee-Gogebic Iron Range. The Plumer Mine Headframe site tells the story of the region's iron mining heritage. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

​

Our Vision

In summer 2023, a group of volunteers organized the Friends of the Plumer Mine Headframe and began the first phase of site restoration.  Volunteers cleared  trees and brush growing under the Headframe. Fencing was replaced to enhance public safety and viewing.

 

In 2024, restoration work will continue with the creation of an accessible walking trail leading to the adjacent Plumer Mine "location" which housed mining buildings and homes.  New interpretative signs will be installed to tell the story of the Plumer Mine. When completed our goal is the designation of this location as the Plumer Mine Heritage Site.