Elcor is a ghost town in the U.S.

state of Minnesota that was inhabited between

1897 and 1956. It was built on the Mesabi Iron Range near the city of Gilbert in
St. Louis County. Elcor was its own unincorporated community before it was
abandoned and was never a neighborhood proper of the city of Gilbert.[2] Not rating
a figure in the national census, the people of Elcor were only generally considered
to be citizens of Gilbert.[3] The area where Elcor was located was annexed by
Gilbert when its existing city boundaries were expanded after 1969.[4]

In November 1890, the seven Merritt brothers discovered ore near Mountain Iron,
triggering an unparalleled iron rush to the Mesabi Range.[5] The Elba mine was
opened in 1897, and the town was platted under the direction of Don H. Bacon,
president of the Minnesota Iron Company. A second nearby mine, the Corsica, was
opened in 1901. The community was first called "Elba" after the name of the first
underground mine (the name "Elcor" was formed later by combining the first
syllables of each mine's name). The Elba and Corsica mines were both leased by
Pickands Mather and Company after the formation of the United States Steel
Corporation.[6][7][8] An influx of people of many ethnicities and many nations
followed, and Elcor became a microcosm of U.S. immigration, mirroring the cultural
assimilation of the time.[9] At its peak around 1920, Elcor had two churches, a
post office, a mercantile, a primary school, a railroad station, and its own law
enforcement, and housed a population of nearly 1,000.[10]

Elcor was a mining location, built by the mining company to house the workers for
its mines.[10] People were allowed to own their homes, but the land on which the
houses stood belonged to the mining company.[11][12] After the Corsica mine closed
in 1954, Pickands Mather and Company ordered the residents to vacate the property
so that it could reclaim the land; by 1956, Elcor was completely abandoned.[2][13]
[14] The desolate property changed hands often through acquisitions, mergers, and
bankruptcies. In 1993 the Inland Steel Company began stripping the overburden from
Elcor's former location for what is now the Minorca mine

In the early days, houses were made of wooden boards and surrounded by a four-
board-high fence which was fronted with a boardwalk. Most of the streets were dirt
roads. Winters were bitterly cold, and teams of horses dragging V-shaped wooden
plows cleared the streets.[36][37] In the center of town was the community pump,
from which the village would draw water at stipulated hours. Water was pumped from
the mine twice a day through a big open pipe. Everyone had to carry water home
during pumping time. There was no shutoff valve, so buckets, tubs, and barrels were
used for water storage.[2][12][38] Later, a water tower was built to hold water
drawn from a deep well. St. Bernard dogs helped carry the water from the well to
the homes. Running water and bathtubs came only after ditches were dug for pipes to
provide water from Gilbert around 1916.[6][12] Kerosene lamps provided the means of
lighting until 1916, when power lines were installed.[12][38] Initially, the only
telephone was at the Elba mine office.[39]

The community's Finns organized a temperance society and built the Finnish
Temperance Hall.[40] The community also included a band, a volunteer fire
department, tennis courts, and a clubhouse for employees.[6][18][28] A small
Methodist church and Presbyterian church were built.[38] The town also had a night
watchman and later a full-time patrolman.[12][34] Always noted as a quiet, orderly
town,[34][37] Elcor managed to avoid the social vagaries of adjacent communities,
like Gilbert's red-light district.[41]

One of the frame houses was used as the first school in Elcor.[42] It was not long
before a new school was constructed. Elcor was included in the middle part of the
Gilbert School system, known then as Independent School District No. 18. There were
five schoolhouses in the district. The McKinley-Elba school was built in 1900,
halfway between McKinley and Elba, complete with its own well and windmill.[6][43]
It had four teachers and housed classes through the eighth grade, accommodating
pupils of both communities.[6][42][12] Students walked to school over boardwalks.
[6] There were also three primary schools in the district, one of them in Elba on
Malta Street.[43]

Elcor's renters were required to take in boarders.[10][17] The company rented a

"cottage" for $7.50 per month, which later included electricity. Homes were charged
an additional dollar per month when water was piped in from Gilbert.[10] Although
people were later allowed to own their homes (even though the land on which the
houses stood belonged to the mining company), rents were never increased.[11]

All families had their own gardens in which they grew vegetables that lasted
through the winter. Some raised cows, pigs, and chickens; others had horses for
carrying firewood.[18] There was little refrigeration, and perishables were
difficult to keep.[44] Before the mercantile came to Elcor, residents went to the
J. P. Ahlin store in McKinley, or to the Saari, Campbell and Kraker Mercantile in
Gilbert.[12] Deliveries were made daily, with orders taken for the following day.
People bought on credit and paid monthly, on paydays.[45]

In 1920, the Finnish Hall became the Elcor Mercantile, along with an official U.S.
Post Office.[10][11] When the post office began operation, much confusion resulted,
because there was another town named Elba in southeastern Minnesota, just east of
Rochester.[11][18][37] The name "Corsica" was attempted with the same result.[11]
Finally, the community was named "Elcor", combining the first syllable of each of
the two names.[6][18][11] "Elcor" was emblazoned in large white letters on the
water tower.[11]

Mail was picked up twice daily at the railroad station, erroneously named "Elcore",
for the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad (later the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range
Railroad).[46][47][48] Later, the Elcor Mercantile diversified into the up-and-
coming petroleum business, selling Conoco gasoline, kerosene, fuel oils, motor
oils, grease, and even outboard motors.[3][44] Concrete sidewalks were built to
line the shady streets, and bright red fire hydrants were installed.[11] Homes were
insulated, and people began to purchase refrigerators.[44] Manilla Street and
Maritana Avenue were paved. Greyhound Bus Lines established a stop at the Elcor
Mercantile.[44] A baseball team was entered in the old East Mesaba League,[40] and
the Elcor Mercantile sponsored the Elcor-Conocos, an ice-hockey team that became
one of the best on the Iron Range.[44] Chicago Blackhawks ice-hockey goaltender Sam
LoPresti was born in Elcor.[49]