MI Keweenaw Peninsula 2022 308
The Keweenaw Peninsula is the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States.
The Keweenaw is composed of some of the oldest exposed rock in the world, dating back some 1.1 billion years, and it is mineral rich. The first great mining boom in the United States began in 1843 with the discovery, first in Copper Harbor, of the red metal – copper.
Today, the Keweenaw is marked by dramatic Lake Superior shorelines, small coastal towns, and the historic remains of the Copper Country mining boom. These images were while exploring the Keweenaw in July 2022, including these locations.
The Keweenaw National Historic Park (KNHP) preserves and shares the story of the Keweenaw’s copper booms and busts through 21 Heritage Sites, headquarted in Calumen. Each helps tell of the rise, domination and decline of this area’s copper mining industry. Embodying stories of hardship, ingenuity, struggle and success, each site explores the role mining played in people’s lives here and afar.
The Quincy Mine, located near Hancock in the Keweenaw Peninsula, ceased mining operations in 1945, but the site is preserved as a cooperating site of the Keweenaw National Historical Park. Visitors may enjoy guided tours or explore much of site above ground on their own.
The Houghton County Historical Society museum in Lake Linden has an array of historic artifacts on the grounds and exhibits inside. In nearby Tamarack City, the last of eight stamp ruins of the Ahmeek Mill sits next to the City Children's Park.
The tragic Italian Hall Disaster occurred on December 24, 1913, in Calumet. Seventy-three men, women, and children – mostly striking mine workers and their families – were crushed to death in a stampede when someone falsely shouted "fire" at a crowded Christmas party. Today, a siomber memorial marks the site where the building once stood, with only an arch remaining from the original structure.
Gay, an unincorporated community (named after Joseph E. Gay, one of the founders of the Mohawk and Wolverine Mining Companies), was home to a stamp mill built by the Mohawk Mining Company. Today, only the large smokestack and the ruins from the stamp mill remain. Gay's historic school has been restored by the Keweenaw County Historical Society and currently operates as a museum telling the story of the area.
Photographs by Kerry G. Hill, July 2022. Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved.
MI Keweenaw Peninsula 2022 308
The Keweenaw Peninsula is the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States.
The Keweenaw is composed of some of the oldest exposed rock in the world, dating back some 1.1 billion years, and it is mineral rich. The first great mining boom in the United States began in 1843 with the discovery, first in Copper Harbor, of the red metal – copper.
Today, the Keweenaw is marked by dramatic Lake Superior shorelines, small coastal towns, and the historic remains of the Copper Country mining boom. These images were while exploring the Keweenaw in July 2022, including these locations.
The Keweenaw National Historic Park (KNHP) preserves and shares the story of the Keweenaw’s copper booms and busts through 21 Heritage Sites, headquarted in Calumen. Each helps tell of the rise, domination and decline of this area’s copper mining industry. Embodying stories of hardship, ingenuity, struggle and success, each site explores the role mining played in people’s lives here and afar.
The Quincy Mine, located near Hancock in the Keweenaw Peninsula, ceased mining operations in 1945, but the site is preserved as a cooperating site of the Keweenaw National Historical Park. Visitors may enjoy guided tours or explore much of site above ground on their own.
The Houghton County Historical Society museum in Lake Linden has an array of historic artifacts on the grounds and exhibits inside. In nearby Tamarack City, the last of eight stamp ruins of the Ahmeek Mill sits next to the City Children's Park.
The tragic Italian Hall Disaster occurred on December 24, 1913, in Calumet. Seventy-three men, women, and children – mostly striking mine workers and their families – were crushed to death in a stampede when someone falsely shouted "fire" at a crowded Christmas party. Today, a siomber memorial marks the site where the building once stood, with only an arch remaining from the original structure.
Gay, an unincorporated community (named after Joseph E. Gay, one of the founders of the Mohawk and Wolverine Mining Companies), was home to a stamp mill built by the Mohawk Mining Company. Today, only the large smokestack and the ruins from the stamp mill remain. Gay's historic school has been restored by the Keweenaw County Historical Society and currently operates as a museum telling the story of the area.
Photographs by Kerry G. Hill, July 2022. Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved.