Did you Know?

Breitung Township, named after Michigan native and mining entrepreneur Edward Breitung, was officially organized on August 1, 1882.

The township is so named because Breitung played a pivotal role in developing iron ore mining on what became the Vermilion Range.

First Iron Shipment

On July 31,1884, the very first shipment of Iron Ore ever from Minnesota-a significant milestone-departed from the Breitung Pit via the Duluth & Iron Range Railroad, marking the formal start of industrial mining in the region.

The Birth of Soudan

On March 3, 1885, the mining community know as Soudan was formally established within Breitung Township.

The name “Soudan” (an alternate spelling of Sudan) was coined by a mining manager as a tongue-in-cheek contrast to Minnesota’s cold climate versus the tropical heat of Africa’s Sudan. That playful moniker stuck.