Whitefish Point, Michigan

The road north of Newberry takes you to Paradise.  

This town is known for its Blueberry Festival. 

A forest fire years ago opened the land 

to the growth of wild blueberries.

  

The town is also popular area for black bear hunting, fishing and ATVs.

Restored Whitefish Point Lighthouse Station 

established in 1849 by President Lincoln.

Whitefish Point has been called the graveyard of Lake Superior 
where about 550 shipwrecks have occured.

The eastern end of the lake is congested where the lake narrows and ships must pass.  Weather caused numerous collisions and groundings.

Recovered ship rudder from 1901 wooden steamer.

Marquette, Upper Michigan

Marquette was settled by French Missionaries.  
The city is a major port on Lake Superior. 

Harbor on the edge of downtown.

Marquette has the largest population in Upper Michigan.

Former iron ore dock on display.

  

Railroad cars on tracks above drop loads directly into transport ships.

Presque Isle Harbor Lighthouse guides ships to railroad ore docks.

Calumet, Michigan and Kewennaw Peninsula

The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company 

established the town of Calumet in 1864.

C&H company mined nearly 50% of all copper produced in the area.

The Saint Paul Apostle Church focal point of downtown.

The Calumet Art Center located in this former church built in 1893.

All the downtown buildings are on the Historical Register.

Early town people. 

Note the brand names of Ivory soap and Van Camp in shop window.

Copper Country Firefighter's museum

First municipal theater built 1900 in USA.
 It still offers theatrical, musical and community events year round.

This blacksmith shop was relocated to the Phoenix area in 1906.  
The blacksmith made any metal work that needed to be done.

Workshop was started in 1857.

Viewpoints along Lake Superior. 

The lake surface covers 31,700 square miles 
and is the largest fresh water lake in the world.  

The lake is 350 miles long and 160 miles at its widest point.

Eagle Harbor Lighthouse built in 1871.

The Church of Assumption in Phoenix, Michigan. 

Gothic style Roman Catholic Church built in 1858. 

Quincy Copper Mine Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan

Over a period of 150 years 14 billion pounds of copper rock 

was mined in the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Quincy became the second largest mine in Lake Superior region

by the 1880s.

The Quincy Mine offers a tour to explore a 2,400 section at the seventh level.

By the mid 1800s mines like Quincy 

sprang up along the Peninsula.

This piece of copper ingot weighs 311 pounds.

Raw copper rock

Inside #2 shaft-rockhouse. 

This shaft reaches 9,260 feet on the incline into the earth.

The mine had 85 levels and all are flooded today below the seventh level.

A sad note to this story 7 & 8 year old immigrant children worked as 

suppliers inside the mine. Some even carried dynamite. 

Houghton, Upper Michigan

The Kewennaw Peninsula is where copper metal deposits were
discovered thousands of years ago by Native Americans.

In 1843, the nation's first mineral rush accrued here six
years before the California gold rush. Cornish and Finnish immigrants
came to work in the copper mines. 

The City of Houghton Campground has great sites with views of 

Portage Ship Canal.

The Canal is now used by pleasure craft to reach 
Lake Superior and for safe harbor. 

Copper mining ceased in late 1960.

A tour boat heading possibly to Isle Royale National Park.  
The Island is shared by Canada and USA.

The City Park has a beach, playground and boardwalk 

that takes you into downtown.

The Portage Bridge connects the City of Hancock & Houghton. It is the world's largest and widest lift bridge.  

In winter snowmobiles are allowed to use the lower deck. 

Average snowfall in this area is 218 inches and record is 350.

Downtown Houghton has many fine carved red stone buildings.

Houghton is the birthplace of Professional Hockey in the USA in 1902.

The city of Hancock located across the canal has has another 

good example of carved red stone city hall building.

Bannack State Park Dillon, Montana

Bannack's history dates to July 1862 when gold was discovered along the 

banks of Grasshopper Creek.  

Population went from 400 to 3,000 people. 

It became a virtual ghost town after 1863 when the gold ran out.

 Mining artifacts from all major mining operations.

County courthouse built in 1875 for $14,000.

 In 1891 it was remodeled into the Meade Hotel.

The Methodist Church was the only church in town. 

Note wire loop under the church seat to hold cowboy hat during service.

Skinner's Saloon was popular gathering place for outlaws which included

the former sheriff who was hanged.

Jail was seldom used because no one wanted the job of guarding the prisoners. Offenders were warned, kicked out of town, or hanged.

The Gallows could be seen by prisoners from their jail cell.

In the blacksmith shop branding iron samples are burned on the walls.

This building housed a private school on the first floor and

Masonic Lodge on second floor.

The Lodge number is still active and has members

around the world.

There are 104 historic buildings in the Bannack State Park 

located 21 miles from Dillon.  

Nearby are two more historic mining towns of

 Virginia City and Nevada City.