This recreational area honors A. Lanfear Norrie, who began exploring for iron ore on the Gogebic Range in 1882. His discovery led to the opening of the Norrie Mine in Ironwood, and soon other mines, including the Ashland, Aurora, Pabst, and Newport, were booming in these busy places. Ironwood is said to have been named for the mining captain James Wood, who was nicknamed "Iron" Wood. After a destructive fire in 1887, the community was rebuilt.