1844 : Marquette Range of Iron Ore Discovered

On September 19, 1844 William Austin Burt’s surveying party discovered the Marquette Range of Iron Ore. The following year the Jackson Mine of the Jackson Mining Company was started, leading to the growth of the city of Negaunee, Michigan. The California Gold Rush of 1848 produced less than $1 billion in gold, the Upper Peninsula’s iron industry would produce more than $48 billion.

Source : Colleen Burcar, It Happened in Michigan : Remarkable Events That Shaped History, 2010.