The Webster-Ashburton Treaty and the Minnesota Iron Ranges

Abstract

IN fixing that segment of the international boundary which extends westward from Lake Superior to Rainy Lake, the Webster-Ashburton Treaty resolved a dispute over a tract of land that contained valuable deposits of iron and that lay near other significant deposits. Were the Minnesota iron ranges to Daniel Webster or Lord Ashburton? One scholar has asserted that in 1842 the Mesabi Range was known to be rich in iron ore and has implied that while Ashburton shared this knowledge he falsely professed to believe the area of little value and consciously surrendered the British claim.' To support these statements only President John Tyler's message accompanying the treaty to the Senate is offered as evidence. Tyler, however, said no more than that the land to which the United States gained clear title was considered valuable as a mineral region.2 He cited no authority and did not specify iron. No evidence has been found to support the assertion that any of the Minnesota iron deposits were in 1842; abundant testimony contradicts it. Neither the Mesabi nor any other range, inside or outside the disputed area, was for many years after that date. The object of this note is to identify the dates of discovery and to indicate the geographical relationship of the iron deposits to the boundaries established by the treaty of 1842. The area substantially in dispute composed a triangle of which the base is the shore of Lake Superior from its western tip northeastward one hundred fifty miles to the mouth of the Pigeon River. The northern leg of the