Zim

In the same way as the areas north of the Iron Range, those to the south also saw the birth of a Finnish farming region. One difference between the two appears to be that while the northern settlement began directly beyond the range, the sweep of Finnish farms to the south is at some distance removed from the range itself. This is explained by the fact that there were roads here: even at a relatively early period there was a road out of Eveleth southward to the Zim and Sax areas, so more distant settlement

Emil Johnson's lumber camp in 1914. Emil Johnson is first on the left.
Woman standing at the right is the camp cook.

was possible. Going out along this road, Finnish miners started their farming projects back in the 1890s. A decade later many more began to settle here - a result of the strikes.

The village of Zim lies 12 miles south of Eveleth. It was, originally, a railroad stop, with a small station house, and the road south from Eveleth passing by, and a small country store owned by one S. V. Levin, who was also the local postmaster. The Ojala farm is here as the solitary Finnish home, but a county road heading west from the station is dotted with Finnish farms

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