The Chapin Mine Company formed in 1879 in response to the rush for iron mining in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In 1889, the company built the Cornish Pump, which remains the biggest reciprocating steam-driven engine in the United States.
Known as the Chapin Mine Street Pump Engine, it was once openly displayed at the corner of Kimberly Avenue and Kent Street. The pump solved the problem of mining for iron below a cedar swamp, significantly reducing accidents and increasing productivity. It operated until 1896 when a shift in the ground cracked the engine. The pump was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, and is housed today within the Cornish Pumping Engine and Mining Museum, alongside other historic mining equipment and artifacts.
Chapin Mine Street Pump Engine, 300 Kent St, Iron Mountain, MI 49801, Phone: 906-774-1086
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