John Burt devoted his life to moving Upper Peninsula iron ore to Lower Great Lakes markets. In answer to a Pittsburgh iron manufacturer who insisted Pennsylvania had no need for Michigan ore, Burt predicted it would reach Pittsburgh within five years and be sought after. A trained surveyor, he discovered ore deposits, operated iron mines, opened blast furnaces to make pig iron, ran a railway with the Ely Brothers to move ore, quarried brownstone to build kilns, published the first newspaper to promote the ore, and lobbied for and supervised the first Soo Canal lock, opening Michigan's ore trade. Within four years of that exchange, 4,000 tons of Lake Superior iron ore passed through the canal consigned to Pittsburgh. Burt also conceived and designed the Soo Locks system for raising and lowering ships at Sault Ste. Marie, where Lake Huron is 21 feet lower than Lake Superior, creating rapids that obstructed shipping, and his solution prevented water from dangerously sloshing through the gates.