The Seven Iron Men, Ather known as Merritt Brothers, were known as iron-ore pioneers in the Mesabi Range

Mesabi Range

The Mesabi Iron Range is a vast deposit of iron ore and the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. Discovered in 1866, it is the chief deposit of iron ore in the United States. The deposit is located in northeast Minnesota, largely in...

 and the creation of what is now known as Mountain Iron. Their story was told, in part, by the book Seven Iron Men by Paul de Kruif

Paul de Kruif

Paul Henry de Kruif was an American microbiologist and author of Dutch descent. Publishing as Paul de Kruif, he is most noted for his 1926 book, Microbe Hunters...

.. The book was first published in 1929.

The brothers, actually five brothers and two nephews, are credited with charting the Mesabi Range and recording the areas which demonstrated the highest potential for iron to be found after they'd recognized what they found.. Due to the lack of railroads in the region, they were unable to transport the ore, and this led to the growth of the railroads in the region

Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway

The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway is a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that hauls iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota...

. The railroad, while beneficial for transport was at the center of conflict between the Merrit Brothers and J.D. Rockefeller, to whom they were eventually forced to sell their stake in Mountain Iron in 1893.