Ely Dedicating Memorial for Fallen Miners

(MNN)-The city of Ely is honoring the 218 miners who lost their lives working in the area’s underground iron ore mines. A dedication ceremony was held Sunday at the historic Pioneer Mine site for the new Ely Miners Memorial, a project more than two decades in the making.

Volunteers with the Ely Arts and Heritage Center spent years researching the names and stories of the fallen miners. The first recorded mining death was John E. Ogren, who died in the Chandler Mine in 1889. Organizers say the memorial serves as a lasting tribute to the workers whose sacrifices helped build Ely and shaped Minnesota’s mining heritage.