Perhaps the most historically overlooked building in Ely has been the train depot. Information was hard to find but it seems the railroad came in about 1888.
The Pioneer Mine closed on April 1, 1967. The Zenith Mine continued for a year or two longer. The stockpiles were cleared out in and the tracks were pulled out in 1983 but the depot remained. The building was used by a Wilderness Outfitters for a number of years.
Before the railroad, only a stage coach road came to town from Tower but both timber and iron ore needed to be taken out and sent to points further south. A railroad was the answer.
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