Introduction

The Copper Range Company (1899-1977) operated copper mines in Houghton County's South Range and in Ontonagon County. The second largest mining company in the Copper Country (after Calumet & Hecla), the Copper Range Company was the only one to survive the 1960s. In addition to mining, it owned and operated the Copper Range Railroad (1899-1973) and the Copper Range Motor Bus Company (1925-1955).

Formation of Copper Range Company and Copper Range Consolidated Company, 1899-1905

The Copper Range Company was organized under the leadership of William A. Paine in January 1899. Paine was the co-founder and longtime head of the Boston based brokerage firm Paine, Webber & Company. When it was initially formed, the Copper Range Company's two operations were the Copper Range Railroad Company and the Champion Copper Company.

For the history of the Copper Range Railroad Company, see the historical note to Series IX, Subseries IV: Copper Range Railroad Company Records.

The Champion Copper Company was founded in 1899 as a jointly owned venture by the Copper Range Company and the St. Mary's Canal Mineral Land Company. Under the leadership of General Manager L. L. Hubbard, the Champion Mine was opened in the new town of Painesdale. A stamp mill was soon constructed on Lake Superior in the town of Freda.

In December 1901, unable to increase its capital stock under Michigan law, Paine founded the Copper Range Consolidated Company under New Jersey law for the purpose of consolidating the Baltic, Champion, and Trimountain mines. However, the Trimountain Mining Company refused to participate and only the Baltic Mining Company was initially acquired.

The Baltic Mining Company had been formed by John Stanton of New York in 1897. By this point, Stanton had been a major figure in the Copper Country for decades, primarily through his role as Secretary-Treasurer of the Atlantic Mining Company (located adjacent to the new Baltic property). His son, Frank McMillan Stanton, had already been the Atlantic Mining Company's agent for nearly ten years when he oversaw the opening of the Baltic Mine. After using the Atlantic Mill for its first few years, the Baltic Mining Company joined with the Atlantic Mining Company in 1901 to construct the Redridge Dam to provide sufficient power for the Atlantic Mill and the new Baltic Mill.

In 1903, faced with serious financial difficulties, the Trimountain Mining Company accepted the Copper Range Consolidated Company's 1901 acquisition proposal. That same year saw the formation of the Michigan Smelting Company. For the history of the latter, see the historical note to Series II, Subseries IX: Michigan Smelting Company and Copper Range Company, Smelting Department Records.

The Trimountain Mining Company had been founded in 1899 as part of the "Fay Group" of mines, which were controlled by Harry F. Fay of Boston and operated by Superintendent James Chynoweth. Following the opening of the mine, the Trimountain Mill was built in 1900 in the newly founded town of Beacon Hill. In addition to Trimountain Mine, the company began development on the Globe Mine in 1901.

Paine-Denton Era, 1905-1923

From the beginning of mining operations, but especially after F. W. Denton replaced L. L. Hubbard as General Manager in 1905, the boundary between the various Copper Range Consolidated Company subsidiaries was porous. Company officers freely used titles and stationary from subsidiaries.

This was partly due to the increasing centralization of company operations. The new central Purchasing Department led the way in 1904. Denton's promotion from Baltic Superintendent to Baltic Agent (replacing Stanton) in 1906 unified the management of all three mines. A central hospital was built at Trimountain that same year.

In 1911, the Copper Range Consolidated Company acquired the Atlantic Mining Company. For the history of the Atlantic Mining Company, see the historical note to Series II, Subseries I: Atlantic Mine Office Records.

As the Copper Country's second largest mining company, the Copper Range Consolidated Company was a major focus of the 1913-1914 Copper Miners Strike. Along with the other mining companies, Copper Range closed ranks behind the leadership of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Company in the campaign against the Western Federation of Miners. Painesdale itself was the scene of the deeply controversial Seeberville and Jane-Dally shootings. Despite a short shutdown and a long period of low production, the Copper Range Consolidated Company successfully outlasted the strikers.

After the State of Michigan changed its laws to allow for larger corporate capitalization, the Copper Range Consolidated Company became unnecessary. In 1915, the Copper Range Company's capital stock was increased and it merged with its parent company.

In 1917, the Baltic Mining Company was declared dissolved (due to lawsuits, this was not official until 1922) and became the Baltic Branch of the Copper Range Company. In the same year, General Manager F. W. Denton moved to the Boston Office to become Managing Director. He was replaced by Assistant General Manager William H. Schacht.

The Trimountain Mining Company was dissolved in 1923 and became the Trimountain Branch of the Copper Range Company. F. W. Denton resigned all his positions in the Copper Range Company the same year.

Paine-Schacht Era, 1923-1944

Denton's departure was the most prominent sign of a changing of the guard at the Copper Range Company. President William A. Paine, who had been closely involved in operations, was increasingly delegating responsibilities to his son, Secretary-Treasurer F. W. Paine. For the next seventeen years, Schacht and F. W. Paine would lead the Copper Range Company.

The Copper Range Motor Bus Company was founded in 1925, for its history see the historical note to Series IX, Subseries III: Copper Range Motor Bus Company Records.

In May 1929, the Copper Range Company acquired the property of the Calumet & Hecla controlled White Pine Copper Company (founded 1909) at an auction. Later that year, William A. Paine died, shortly before the stock market crashed. F. W. Paine served briefly as President, before turning over the position to Schacht, who still remained in Painesdale as General Manager.

During the Great Depression, the Copper Range Company acquired the property of various defunct mining companies, such as the Mohawk Mining Company and the Victoria Copper Mining Company. It also gained a controlling interest in C. G. Hussey & Company in 1931, for its history see the historical note to Series II, Subseries III, Subseries I: C. G. Hussey & Company Division Records.

Another important acquisition, the St. Mary's Mineral Land Company, allowed the Copper Range Company to gain full control of the Champion Copper Company. Although the latter company was continued on paper until 1977, all of its assets were transferred to the Copper Range Company at the end of 1931. For the history of St. Mary's, see the historical note to Series VIII, Subseries V: St. Mary's Canal Mineral Land Company Records.

Despite its acquisitions, the Copper Range Company faced serious financial difficulties during the Depression. The collapse of copper prices forced the closure of the Trimountain Mine in May 1930 and the Baltic Mine in December 1931. This left only the Champion Mine as a major producer.

Like all Copper Country mining companies, the Copper Range Company had always mined native copper deposits. However, while the White Pine property was rich in copper, it was in the form of copper sulfide. In 1938, the Copper Range Company began an intensive research effort to develop milling methods suitable for copper sulfide ore. It would be more than ten years before the milling problems were overcome.

In 1940, F. W. Paine was killed in a Boston subway accident. His successor as Treasurer was his brother-in-law Morris F. LaCroix. LaCroix then succeeded Schacht as President, when the latter died in 1944.

Later Years, 1944-1977

By 1950, the Copper Range Company was confident that the technical barrier to developing the White Pine Mine had been solved. They organized a new White Pine Copper Company in November 1950 as a wholly-owned subsidiary. In 1952, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation provided a $57,185,000 (later increased to $67,685,000) loan to develop White Pine. Construction of the mine, mill, smelter, and townsite lasted from 1952 to 1955, and White Pine became the primary operation of the Copper Range Company.

Shortly after the formal opening of White Pine in 1955, President LaCroix died. John P. Lally, the longtime head of the C. G. Hussey & Company Division, succeeded him. When Lally retired in 1959, Nelson J. Darling, Jr. (LaCroix's son-in-law) took over as CEO and Acting President.

Under Darling's leadership, the Copper Range Company recruited James Boyd as its new president in 1960. Boyd moved the head office from Boston to New York in November 1961. He also introduced scientific management concepts and pursued an aggressive program of exploration, coupled with research and development efforts.

After extensive exploration and study for possible alternatives, the Copper Range Company finally closed the Champion Mine and Champion Mill in 1967. Along with Calumet & Hecla's shutdown two years later, this ended over a century of copper mining in Houghton County.

In 1970, Chester O. Ensign, Jr. became President. He led the Copper Range Company until it merged with the Louisiana Land & Exploration Company (LL&E) in May 1977.

This marked the end of the independent existence of the Copper Range Company, which became a subsidiary of LL&E. The White Pine Mine would continue to operate under several different owners until 1995.

For listings of directors and officers for the Copper Range Company and its subsidiaries, see the Appendix.