The Chicago Northwestern Railway was extended to Iron River and Crystal Falls in 1882, and in its first year 29,115 tons of ore were shipped. Railroad workers and miners produced and hauled the ore, and by the time ore shipping ceased in 1979, the total tonnage had reached 208,345,852. The Caspian Mine opened in 1903, and this headframe was erected in 1921; it is on the National Register of Historic Places.