The Lake Mine was a very important operation. It is not known when the mine was first worked and reports by geologists from 1836 to 1843 make no mention of it. The mine was located within such close proximity to the Sterling Mine that by 1888, both mines each had a level only 75 feet distant from each other. The ore was raised from an inclined shaft by skip cars before being shipped by the Sterling Iron Railway with tracks that led directly to the site.

The mine was in continuous operation from 1896 through 1917. A report by the mine foreman, Thomas Pearce, covering the first six days of January 1912, indicates there were 116 people working across three shifts. The production during this period was reported to be 806 tons.

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