Although all the mines from McKinley to Ely Lake can be said to lie in the Gilbert region, the following list of mines includes only those most closely related to the Gilbert story:

The records of the earliest Finns in Gilbert have been preserved in the first instance in S. Ilmonen's Amerikansuomalaisten Historia. According to it, the earliest list of Finns in Gilbert is as follows: Isak Alftan from Kankaanpää, Samuel Hendrickson from Sievi, Johan Järvelä and Alex Karvonen from Halsua, Henry Lehto from Saarijärvi, Hemming Mattson from Sievi, Kalle Niemi from Tyr

vää, Oscar Olson from Kemi and Herman Vartiainen from Kiuruvesi. Another listing, prepared decades later, adds the following names Sam Aho, Wäinö Kokko, Isack Lahti, Otto Lindholm, Hans L. Line, John Oja, John Palki and John A. Ruokonen.

Since Gilbert experienced its growth at a relatively late date, the Finnish organizations here are also of later origin. The National Church congregation for example, was the one moved there from Sparta and able to dedicate its new church in June 1909, and to be host to the National Church annual convention in 1910. This congregation, which had 34 members in 1949, has been served by pastors J. Rankila, A. Karen, L. N. Wilenius, D. Ruotsa

lainen, G. A. Aho, E. A. Heino, T. Miettinen and E. Lampela. While Aho served in Gilbert he wrote several religious tracts, and his lecture on unionism (given in Thomson in 1936) was given publication.

Mine: Opened: Corsica    1901

Elba    1898

Genoa-Sparta    1896

Gilbert    1907

Gilbert Silver    1955

Hobart    1906

La Belle    1901

Malta    1899

Mariska    1907

Pettit    1902

Schley    1910

Production by 1956 (in tons): 13,447,332

3,481,872   (exhausted) 10,073,384

14,224,301

67,750

1,079,312   (operations ended)

714,209   (operations ended)

1,417,824   (exhausted)

365,961   (operations ended) 2,713,818

3,812,252

Gilbert's Suomi Synod Church.

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