Editing Wakefield, Michigan (section)

===Mining boom===
The founding of Wakefield and much of its early history was based upon the discovery of [[iron ore]]<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-54463_18670_18793-53100--,00.html | title = The Iron Riches of Michigan's Upper Peninsula | publisher=michigan.gov/dnr/ | access-date =March 3, 2011}}</ref> on the east end of Sunday Lake by George A. Fay in 1881.  Upon its discovery, several mining companies rushed to the area and many mines opened.  Villages such as Plymouth, Pike, Castile, and Comet got their names from these iron mines.  The first mines in Wakefield were the Sunday Lake, Iron Chief, and the Brotherton.  According to the Gogebic Range Directory of 1888, the output of these mines in 1886 was as follows: Sunday Lake, 13,00 tons; Iron Chief, 9,584 tons, and the Brotherton, about 3,500 tons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gogebic.org/history.htm |title=Gogibic County History |publisher=Ggogebic County Government | access-date=February 22, 2011}}</ref>

Wakefield's iron mines include:<ref>Cox, Headframes and Mine Shafts of the Gogebic Range, Volume 2 (2000)</ref>

* '''MIKADO''' Captain John Lester did pioneering work on the MIKADO in 1886.  Development occurred off and on for several years, until the first ore was shipped in 1895. The mine is credited with shipping over one million tons from 1895 to 1917.  Shipments from 1919 to 1952 were sent under the PLYMOUTH name.  The MIKADO mine was located on the northwest end of the open pit, in Verona location.
* '''PILGRIM''' Explorations began on this location in the spring of 1886 under Captain Harry Letcher.  Nothing was shipped until 1919–27 when the PILGRIM made shipments of twenty-two thousand tons.  The PILGRIM was located just east of the MIKADO.
* '''PLYMOUTH''' The PLYMOUTH [[open-pit mine]] operated just to the west of the WAKEFIELD, but the PLYMOUTH was entirely an open pit operation, with the possible exception of a small amount of ore taken out of the No.3 shaft as it was being sunk.  It began shipping in 1916 and closed on November 6, 1952, having shipped almost seventeen million tons.
* '''WAKEFIELD''' Drill exploration began on the WAKEFIELD property in July 1912, and two shafts were down by the following summer.  The first ore shipment was made on October 15, 1913.  The WAKEFIELD soon became an open-pit mine, shipping a total of almost fourteen million gross tons from 1913 to 1954.
* '''CITY OF CHICAGO''' Exploration began in the latter part of 1886 at this location on the north shore of Sunday lake.  The SPARTA operated on the same location in 1888 and the CITY OF CHICAGO returned in 1896, eventually producing shipments of almost one hundred thousand tons of ore between 1896 and 1915.  It was also called the SOUTH CHICAGO in 1915.
* '''SPARTA''' The former CITY OF CHICAGO exploration became the SPARTA in 1888.  It was developed and shipped almost ten thousand tons from 1891 to 1895.
* '''ALPHA''' In the summer of 1886 the Alpha Iron Mining Company sank a shaft near the north shore of Sunday lake.  By 1890 this location was taken over by the PIKE mine.
* '''PIKE''' Captain Robinson D. Pike (1838–1906) of Bayfield, Wisconsin took over the former ALPHA option in 1889.  Ten years later the PIKE made its first shipment, with total shipments of over one hundred five thousand tons from 1899 to 1910.  In 1927 the PIKE became part of the SUNDAY LAKE GROUP.
* '''BROTHERTON''' Frank H. Brotherton began mineral explorations near Sunday lake in the summer of 1883.  The first iron ore was shipped from the mine in 1886, with total shipments amounting to two million six hundred ninety thousand tons by the time the mine closed in 1923.
* '''SUNDAY LAKE''' This location was first explored in 1881 by George Fay.  Development picked up by 1884, and the first iron shipment left port at Ashland on November 19, 1885.  The SUNDAY LAKE mine later encompassed all of Section 10 and the former BROTHERTON mine.  Over seventeen million gross tons of ore went out from 1885 to 1961.  The mine closed on February 16, 1961.
* '''IRON CHIEF''' Development of the IRON CHIEF mine began in 1884 under the Fink Mining Company.  It was originally called the ASCHERMANN for Edward Aschermann (18341904) of Appleton, Wisconsin.  The mine shipped about twelve thousand tons of iron ore in 1886 and 1887.
* '''CASTILE''' Captain Pentecost Mitchell (1861–1933) discovered iron ore on this location in 1886.  The CASTILE began producing in 1906 and shipped almost nine hundred thousand tons of ore by the time it closed in 1923.
* '''METEOR''' The METEOR started as an exploration in 1890, called the NORTON.  It was developed into a mine by 1900 and operated until 1904, shipping one hundred thirty-two thousand tons between 1899 and 1904. Over six million tons of stockpile ore went under the name NORTH MIKADO.
* '''COMET''' Captain Pentecost Mitchell found ore here and an exploration called the ECLlPSE was developed from 1886 to 1890.  The COMET began in 1890 making its first ore shipment in August.  The COMET was shut down in 1893 reopening in 1900 and operating until 1902 as part of the METEOR mine.  It is credited with shipments of eighty-nine thousand tons in 1890–93.
* '''MORGAN''' The MORGAN mine east of Wakefield was developed in 1918–23 and made its first ore shipment on January 30, 1923.  It operated until 1925 and shipped over fifty-eight thousand tons.
* '''VICAR''' The easternmost productive mine on the Gogebic Range covered most of Section 12, east of Wakefield.  This location was once called the JONES & LAUGHLIN exploration and included the old PHOENIX exploration that dated back to 1887.  The VICAR shipped about one hundred two thousand tons in 1950–51.