The “Rust Belt” is a term used to refer to what was the heavy industrial heart of the United States in the 20th Century, spreading from Pennsylvania west and north towards Minnesota. Coal and mineral mining, steel production and heavy manufacturing dominated the economy until the latter part of the 1900’s when a shift to the technology age lead to a general decline of the traditional “heavy” industries. This journey plans to avoid the large cities of the region and explore the rural side of the Rust Belt.
After 12 years of traveling around the United States I am often asked “what is your favorite place to go?” I can honestly say that I don’t have just one favorite, every trip has exposed me to the wonders of the US in a multitude of ways. However, there are a few places that draw me back. One of them is the Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan where the small village of Copper Harbor sits in lonely isolation on Lake Superior. Definitely out of the way, the Keweenaw contains a stunning mixture of nature and history on a small peninsula that pierces Lake Superior from the south. The Keweenaw (pronounced Que-wah-naw) is reached by heading north on Hwy 41, threading through dense forests before descending to the main population center, the twin cities of Houghton and Hancock.
The tip of the peninsula is now actually an island as a canal was built in the late 1860’s across the peninsula between Houghton and Hancock. The bridge between Hancock and Houghton is the only land access to the northern part of the Keweenaw. Driving through dense forest one emerges on the ridge above the canal in Houghton. Looking north the view reaches across the canal to the buildings of Hancock on the far hillside. The historic Quincy Mine buildings rise on the far horizon.
Continuing to drive down towards the Houghton city center, across the canal to the north is downtown Hancock and the old Quincy Mine smelter, now part of the Keweenaw National Historic Park.
Once across the bridge I turn around and look south back across the canal to downtown Houghton.
The modern buildings of Michigan Tech University dominate the eastern edge of Houghton.
Traveling around the Keweenaw in a counter-clockwise manner I head northeast to the village of Lake Linden, my base for my time in the Keweenaw.
The Keweenaw is actually composed of some of the oldest exposed rock on earth, dating back more than a billion years. The rock is rich with minerals, in particular copper. Some of the purest copper ore in the world was found on the Keweenaw and for thousands of years Native Americans mined ore on the surface, using it for dishes and jewelry. Unlike the great open pit copper mines of the West, the copper ore in the Keweenaw followed rifts of rock deep into the earth. When Europeans arrived in the Keweenaw in the 1700’s they learned of the resource but mining of copper did not really explode until the mid-1800’s when the burgeoning Industrial Revolution created a soaring demand for copper. Two companies, the Calumet & Hecla (C&H) and Quincy Mining came to dominate the industry and during the late 1800’s they were the greatest, most innovative copper mining companies in the world. By the dawn of the 20th Century in 1900 the mine shafts of the Keweenaw were the deepest in the world and the copper riches built a lavish “capital” in the town of Red Jacket, adjacent to the C&H mines. Our trip begins about five miles southeast of Calumet in the village of Lake Linden.
Lake Linden
In order to separate the copper from the surrounding rock enormous “stamp mills” were built to crush the rock, separate out the copper and discard the remains. In 1870 Lake Linden was the site of a large C&H stamp mill built on the northwestern shore of Torch Lake. Ships could come up the lake from Lake Superior, pick up the processed ore, and ship to the outside world. At one time six stamp mills operated along the western side of Torch Lake. Early Lake Linden was destroyed by fire in 1887 and rebuilt according to a strict building code that required commercial buildings to be constructed of stone or brick. Today about 1,200 people call Lake Linden home. Calumet Avenue is the main thoroughfare through town, lined with brick structures built after the 1887 fire.
The center of town is marked by the 1916 county courthouse.
A couple of blocks further north at the end of the commercial area are the 1918 Lake Linden High School and the 1901 St. Joseph Catholic Church.
Beyond the church Calumet Avenue is lined with the typical wood frame houses that surround the commercial area.
Lake Linden was a worker’s town, for the most part management lived closer to the Calumet area. The blocks west of Calumet climbing up the hill contain a few homes built by successful merchants, including the 1888 Captain William H Harris home.
Lucky for me the city maintains a great little campground on the lake shore just a block behind city hall. The view from the hillside above the campground shows the Lunch Box in the foreground with Torch Lake stretching to the south. Due to pollution from the stamp mills this area was unfit for habitation and actually a Superfund clean-up site. Remediation was completed here but continues elsewhere in the Keweenaw as the impact of the copper mining/smelting on the environment was widespread.
Heading out from Lake Linden we continue to roam the Keweenaw by exploring the eastern shore. A lonely road threads between stands of dense forest.
Suddenly a tall spire pierces the blue sky. In 1898 the Mohawk Mining Company built a stamp mill along the shores of Lake Superior and the little village that housed workers was named Gay, after Joseph Gay, one of the founders of the company. All that is left of the stamp mill is the smoke stack and some ruins at its’ base. The 1927 Gay School across the road is now a museum.
Beyond Gay the road retreats from the lake shore and weaves through forest. A shining glimpse of water seen to my right through the trees is the only indication that Lake Superior is out there.
Suddenly a brief opening in the forest reveals a small, sandy cove.
About halfway up the eastern shore the road turns back inland through a forest that provides hints of fall color to come.
Once back on Hwy 41 our path takes us north up to the tip of the peninsula. The narrow asphalt ribbon darts through a tunnel of green along the low mountains that make up the spine of the Keweenaw.
The road ends just beyond the small town of Copper Harbor.
Copper Harbor
In the early 1840’s Walter Cunningham, who had been appointed special agent for the mines of Lake Superior, arrived with a party of 20 men and established an agency on the shores of the small harbor at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. Fort Wilkins was built on a narrow strip of land in 1844 between the harbor and Lake Fanny Hooe (named after an early settler who according to legend either was drowned in the lake or lost in nearby woods) to protect the growing number of miners coming to the area.
Two pictures, taken on the lake shore at either corner looking into the fort, show how the fort might have looked in 1844.
Standing on the porch of the officer quarters in the middle of the “U” the view is across the inside of the fort to the hills beyond Lake Fanny Hooe.
A stockade surrounded the fort on three sides, with only the lake side open. The powder magazine, home to the gun powder and munitions was outside of the building “U” but inside of the stockade. The concave interior ceiling was designed to direct the force from any accidental blast up, thus preventing the walls from blowing outward.
The fort was only used for a short period of time as it simply wasn’t necessary, there really wasn’t anyone lurking about wanting to harm the miners who were flocking to the local copper mines. The soldiers who initially staffed the fort were sent to the Mexican War in 1846 with only one man, Sgt. William Wright, left behind as a caretaker. The army briefly occupied the fort again in 1867-1870 but permanently abandoned the fort in 1870. Across the harbor from Fort Wilkins is the Copper Harbor lighthouse. Originally built in 1848, the lighthouse was the second lighthouse on Lake Superior. The lighthouse fell into disrepair and was replaced with a new, more permanent structure in 1866. That structure is still in use today (thought the light is now automated) and the light can be seen from as much as 12.5 miles away on Lake Superior.
Today Copper Harbor is a tourist destination for those wanting to visit Isle Royale National Park, a collection of islands off the Keweenaw. About 150 people are year-round residents. Continuing to circle around the Keweenaw I leave Copper Harbor and take scenic Brockway Mountain Drive southwest, a narrow road that climbs to the top of Mount Brockway 1,320 feet above sea level. Spectacular views of the Keweenaw’s transition to fall are to the east while Lake Superior glistens to the west.
The road drops down and follows the lake shore until we reach the small village of Eagle Harbor. Another scenic lighthouse guards the entrance to the harbor.
Leaving the lake shore we turn inland to the heart of copper country, the city of Calumet.
Calumet
In 1858 the Calumet mother copper lode was discovered by Edwin Hurlbert in central Keweenaw. He partnered with investors and two companies were formed, the Calumet Mining Company and the Hecla Mining Company. The two companies consolidated in 1871 and became the mighty C&H Mining Company, at the time producing over 57% of the copper mined in the US. These mines were not open pit mines but rather shafts dug deep into the earth as they followed veins of copper. Immediately adjacent to the C&H mines the town of Red Jacket was formed in 1868 to serve the workers. Streets in the industrial area followed the veins of copper, streets in the town were platted on a traditional grid pattern. The curve in the road seen below marks the border between the mining complex and the town of Red Jacket (the name of the town wasn’t legally changed to Calumet until 1929.) The large building on the right is the Union Hall, the spire rising behind it is St. Anne’s Catholic Church.
Buildings in the town were initially built of wood but a massive fire in 1870 destroyed most of Red Jacket. Many of the commercial structures were replaced with sturdy, fire resistant buildings of red Jacobsville sandstone, a local stone found throughout the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. St. Anne’s was completed in 1901 at the peak of the copper boom when nearly 30,000 people lived in Red Jacket and the surrounding villages within walking distance (remember this was before the advent of the automobile.)
The nine blocks at the center of Red Jacket between 4th and 7th Streets north and south, Scott and Elm to the east and west, are lined with magnificent turn of the century commercial buildings. The glory days of the copper boom long gone, most of the buildings are empty above the ground floor (and many are empty there as well.) Some are restored, most are not. 5th and 6th streets stretching west from St. Anne’s were the commercial center of Red Jacket. Most commercial ventures now are targeted towards tourists.
A block south, 6th Street is home to some impressive civic buildings in addition to businesses. The western end of the commercial core is marked by the 1,200 seat Red Jacket Opera House. Opened in 1900 with a touring Broadway production of “The Highwaymen”, in the 1920’s motion pictures replaced live theater.
The same year that the Opera House was built a new fire station was constructed across the street.
East up 6th Street banks, hotels, department stores and other foundations of a thriving community were built on the ashes of the 1870 fire.
Again, most of these buildings are empty above the ground floor and many are vacant there as well. A slow decline for Keweenaw copper began prior to World War I as the immense western copper mines provided copper at a lower price due to their use of open pit mining. Demand for copper rose during the war but after the war the growing automobile industry of Detroit drew the mine workers by paying higher wages. The stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed depressed the demand for copper. World War II briefly brought the mines back to life but after the war the temporary boom ended. By 1950 the population of Calumet had dropped to around 1,500 people. Today only around 900 people live in current day Calumet. While Red Jacket was obviously the center of commercial activity in the area, it was surrounded by other small villages within walking distance. About a half mile southeast of the mine complex was the more residential village of Laurium, home to many of the mine managers and wealthy businessmen of Red Jacket. Also again, remember that this was a time when automobiles were virtually unknown to the general population. Ironically this village was originally called Calumet until the name was changed in 1895 to Laurium.
Laurium
The small village center featured a corner with two ornate bank buildings.
East of the village center are blocks of single family homes, many reflecting the wealth of their owners. Most of these homes are currently occupied.
My time in the Keweenaw ends with a final look south from my camp site across Torch Lake. A fitting ending to a fascinating exploration of the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Next up: Yooperland
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