Mansfield: A Ghost Town in Iron County, Michigan

Aside from being one of the Upper Peninsula's many ghost towns, Mansfield in Iron County is known for something else.....a tragedy.

In September 1893, as 27 miners were working underground, the waters of the Michigamme River began seeping down into the mine. Not able to get out, all 27 men drowned. A memorial plaque has been erected in the area where the water found its way through.

Mansfield was platted in 1889, the railroad came through in 1890, and a post office began operating in 1891.

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Albeit a small town, Mansfield still had a good number of businesses, kept alive by the miners and their families: several boarding houses, general store, grocery store, two saloons, and shingle mill.

After the mine shut down, there were about 50 people left in town. By 1915 it was a ghost town, and there are a few people who reside in that area to this day.

If you visit and hike though the woods and fields, you may be able to find pieces of rusted mining machinery and old building foundations. See the photo gallery below...