The first mine on the Mesabi Range was the
Mountain Iron Mine, discovered in 1890. Iron ore was discovered near present-day Hibbing in early 1892. The Lake Superior Consolidated Iron Mines developed the
underground Burt Mine (William Olcott, manager) and The Sellers Ore Co (C.H. Munger) the underground Sellers Mine. William C. Agnew directed stripping and development of the open-pit Mahoning Mine for the Mahoning Ore Company. All three mines began shipping in 1895, and with development of the Hull and Rust Mines soon merged into one large mine. The town of Hibbing, founded in 1893 on word of the rich iron deposits, prospered considerably as the mine grew. By 1910, though, the northern end of the community was surrounded by the mine on three sides, and it was well known that the ore continued under the town. In 1916 the Oliver Mining Company, operator of the mine, declared that the northern part of Hibbing, which contained many of its homes and businesses, had to be moved. The town government agreed and in 1918 they accepted a proposal from the company to build a
new downtown for Hibbing to the south. A total of 188 buildings ranging in size from small family homes to the large Colonial Hotel were moved by Hibbing's residents using horses, farm tractors, and a steam crawler provided by the mining company. To move all of the buildings, they gradually placed logs underneath the structures and secured them with steel cables. They then rolled the buildings to their new location on specially constructed wooden rails. If the building was too large, they cut it into two or three pieces and moved each separately. If it was too tall, they removed the chimney or had a worker stand on the roof with a long stick to lift up electrical lines as it passed underneath. ==Present operation==