Buhl, a city in sections 20 and 21 of Great Scott
Township (T. 58N, R. 19W), on the Mesabi Range, incorporated on February
25, 1901, was named in honor of Frank H. Buhl, of Sharon, Pa., president
of the Sharon Ore Company, which corporation opened the first mines in
this locality in the spring of 1900 (history of the county, 1910, p.
727). The post office began in 1900.
Buhl is another Mesabi Range town that had its
beginnings when lumber interests moved into the area in 1898 and
established a camp. By 1900, lumber companies employing thousands of
men, had cut over seven million feet of lumber here.
Buhl's population reached its peak in 1920 with 2,007
people. Since that year, until recently, its population has declined
with the decrease in local mining activity. Its future is directly
connected, like that of many other communities on the ranges, to
taconite production.
Simultaneously, mining companies were exploring, and
in 1900, the Sharon Ore Company, while preparing for mining, platted a
forty acre townsite and named it Buhl, for Frank H. Buhl, then president
of the ore company. The town occupied a six block area that is Buhl's
shopping district today.
Mining forged ahead as the chief industry. Men from
many countries came to work in the eight open pit mines that eventually
surrounded the town.
In 1900 there was no hotel or restaurant. Meals were
served at a logging camp in a tent with "walls" of brush and trees. The
train depot was a boxcar.
Yet the population boomed. From lumberjacks and
explorers in 1900, the town grew to a population of 800 in 1903 (with
only 50 women).
Buhl's largest mine, the Wabigon, held the record for
low cost operation. In just three seasons, from 1920-1923, it was
stripped of overburden and 500,000 tons of ore by electric drag lines,
with an average daily crew of five men, each handling approximately 250
tons of ore per day. This was the first open pit on the Mesabi to be
electrified, and its shovel, with a dipper capacity of fourteen tons,
was the largest ever used to that date in an open pit.
Excerpt From: Iron Range Country A
Historical Travelogue of Minnesota's Iron Ranges
Published by: The IRRRB 1979
There
are 405 households out of which 25.4% have children
under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% are
married couples living together, 8.9% have a female
householder with no husband present, and 40.5% are
non-families. 35.1% of all households are made up of
individuals and 18.3% have someone living alone who is
65 years of age or older. The average household size is
2.21 and the average family size is 2.87.
In the city the population is spread
out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24,
24.1% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39
years. For every 100 females there are 118.4 males. For
every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 101.1
males.
The median income for a household in
the city is $31,574, and the median income for a family
is $34,464. Males have a median income of $35,938 versus
$21,538 for females. The
per capita income for the city is $14,828. 13.2% of
the population and 7.2% of families are below the
poverty line. Out of the total population, 21.9% of
those under the age of 18 and 11.0% of those 65 and
older are living below the poverty line.
The
Taconite State Trail stretches 165 miles from Grand Rapids to
Ely and intersects with the Arrowhead State Trail just west of
Lake Vermillion. Portions are paved for biking and in-line
skating. The remainder of the natural surface trail is used
primarily for snowmobiling in the winter. The trail goes through
a few areas that have standing water in the summer, however
portions of the trail are suitable for horseback riding, hiking,
and mountain biking.
The Taconite Trail winds through forests of
birch and aspen intertwined with pine, leading the visitor by
many isolated lakes and streams. From Grand Rapids heading
north, you see the impact of the taconite and iron mining
industry. The northern portion of the trail terrain is rolling
and tree covered as it winds through state and national forest
land.
Eight trail waysides and picnic facilities
offer scenic vistas of the hills, lakes and rivers of this area.
The trail also links three state parks: Bear Head Lake, Soudan
Underground Mine, and McCarthy Beach. The landscape in and
around Bear Head Lake State Park is very rolling and rocky.
The
Taconite State Trail stretches 165 miles from Grand Rapids to
Ely and intersects with the Arrowhead State Trail just west of
Lake Vermillion. Portions are paved for biking and in-line
skating. The remainder of the natural surface trail is used
primarily for snowmobiling in the winter. The trail goes through
a few areas that have standing water in the summer, however
portions of the trail are suitable for horseback riding, hiking,
and mountain biking. 
