Chronicles the development of the Iron Range, including the lives of the working class people as well as the industrial and political forces that built and exploited this region in a series of booms and busts.

Eckert stresses the importance of the building materials as she explores the architectural history of a region whose builders wanted to reflect the local landscape.

The Iron Mining Industry was quite extensive throughout the area known as the Lake Superior Iron Ore District. All of the iron ore was transported by rail to a wide number of lake ports on Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. This book lists all of the ore docks constructed on The Great Lakes. Includes photos of the ore docks and ore cars, ore car schematics and pertinent data.