Object Status:
Unlocated
Accession Date:
March 9, 1812
Primary Source Reference:
Peale Museum Accessions Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, pp. 59-60
Additional Source Text:
"Cut from a mass laying on the River Onatanagan [Ontonagon]; weighing from calculation Eight Tons; This River em[p]ties itself into Lake Superior 360 miles from the River St. Mary's, the outlet of that lake; This metal posseses qualities far superior to that of Common Copper, in tenacity, ductility, brilliancy, and less liab[i]lity to oxidation."
Notes:
The Ontonagon Boulder is a 3,708- pound (1,682 kg) boulder of native copper originally found in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and now in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. See Hope Pantell, "The Story of the Ontonagon Copper Boulder" / https://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/GIMDL-GGOCB_302361_7.pdf
Francis LeBaron (1781–1829) served as apothecary general of the U.S. Army from 1813 to 1821, when the position was eliminated.
