At the turn of the last century, the only community on the White Iron Chain of Lakes was an Ojibwe settlement where White Iron Beach Resort is now located. Led by Chief John Beargrease (a relative of the famous dogsled postman), the villagers frequented their hunting camp on dometopped Beargrease Island south of Ringrock Narrows.
The smaller island in the channel between Beargrease and the narrows was their cemetery. Their dead were buried sitting upright in deep graves with their knives, beads and moccasins and other items ready for their journey to the happy hunting grounds.
Graves were capped off with small houses, remnants of which were still apparent in the 1970s. Game and fish were plentiful, including caribou, and the village quietly flourished.
