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Population:
Additional detailed census information - demographics, population breakdown by age, sex, race, marital status, housing information and more. As of the census of 2000, there are 2,999 people, 1,326 households, and 847 families residing in the city. The population density is 23.4/km˛ (60.7/mi˛). There are 1,409 housing units at an average density of 11.0/km˛ (28.5/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city is 98.30% White, 0.00% African American, 0.77% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.13% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. 0.40% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 1,326 households out of which 27.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% are married couples living together, 10.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% are non-families. 31.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.26 and the average family size is 2.83. In the city the population is spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 41 years. For every 100 females there are 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 90.4 males. The median income for a household in the city is $35,163, and the median income for a family is $52,695. Males have a median income of $41,806 versus $22,837 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,761. 10.7% of the population and 7.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 17.0% of those under the age of 18 and 5.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. History: Mountain Iron, a city in Nichols Township (T. 58N, R. 18W), first settled in the spring of 1892, was incorporated as a village on November 28, 1892, separated from the township on May 16, 1908, and reincorporated on June 20, 1913. Its name is from the Mountain Iron Mine, the earliest to ship ore from the Mesabi Range, in August 1892. The post office began as Marfield in 1892, with Roscoe Merritt as postmaster, changed to Mount Iron in 1894, and to Mountain Iron in 1913; it had a Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railroad station in section 3. Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society
OPENING A NEW ERA Mountain Iron (1,510 alt., 1,492 pop.) may be called the "birthplace of the Mesabi"; for it was here that the first iron ore of the Mesabi Range was discovered, and here that the first railroad to ship that ore was run. The history of the town is linked indissolubly with the Merritt family of Duluth. Timber cruisers and prospectors, they estimated the wealth above their heads and searched for that below their feet. They made a dip needle survey of the entire range and sank test pits. No rich ore turned up, but they did not lose faith. Had not Leonidas Merritt found surface ore while exploring areas being logged? Had not his brother Cassius brought back a rich chunk from a railroad right-of-way he was surveying? The work went on, with crews test-pitting in different parts of the range. In 1890, the crew working under Captain J. A. Nichols discovered blue ore at the site of the present Mountain Iron Mine (inactive). He carried a bushel of it to Duluth, where it was assayed and found to have a high iron content. The Merritts had no way of shipping the ore, but at last they came to an agreement with the Duluth and Winnipeg Railroad (see Proctor), and the first shipment from the Mesabi was made in 1892. The mining camp grew. In April, an 80-acre town site was platted, named Grant in honor of the Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railroad contractor, and in November it was incorporated as the village of Mountain Iron. The panic of 1893 dealt harshly with the new community. A sawmill built that year operated just long enough to supply the immediate lumber needs of the town. With the working of the near-by iron-ore deposits and the influx of new settlers, the village gradually became stabilized. By 1900, the Mountain Iron Mine alone had produced 3,792,629 tons. Mining is still the town's main industry, though only one of the four mines in the vicinity, the Wacootah, is operating. A granite quarry (Co. Rd. 63, two miles north), owned by the Mesabe Granite Company, commenced operations in 1935 and yields Mountain Iron pink granite (see Ely; Cook). A fire lookout tower, on the edge of the quarry, provides a good view of the surrounding country. Mountain Iron's public buildings are of yellow brick. The High School (cor. Biwabik Ave. and 2nd St.) was built in 1911 at a cost of $95,000. Adjacent to it and connected by a tunnel is the Grade and Athletic Building (Biwabik Ave. bet. 2nd and 3rd Sts.), constructed in 1919 at a cost of $305,000. The Village Hall (cor. Mountain Ave. and 2nd St.) and the Public Library (Mountain Ave. bet. 1st and 2nd Sts.) were erected in 1915. The library contains 13,000 volumes, many of which are in foreign languages, and receives 82 periodicals and 12 newspapers. A bronze plaque mounted on a nine and one-half ton granite boulder on the High School lawn commemorates the fortieth anniversary of the first shipment of ore from the Mesabi. The fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of iron ore on the Mesabi Range was celebrated in Mountain Iron on August 9, 10, and 11, 1940, as the "Mountain Iron Golden Jubilee." A ten and one-half foot granite and cement statue of Leonidas Merritt, leader of the famous "Seven Iron Men," was unveiled by one of his sons, Harry Merritt, on the grounds of the Public Library. Lucien Merritt, another son of Leonidas, Glen Merritt, Alva Merritt, and Mrs. Robbins, daughter of Cassius Merritt, also participated. Mountain Iron has several good trout streams in its vicinity, and the West Two River flows through the village. From the WPA Guide to the Minnesota Arrowhead
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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. 
