Thursday, March 29, 2018

Fiborn Quary - I Really Dig This Place

Let me begin by saying the Michigan Karst Conservancy owns the Fiborn Quarry property (an abandoned limestone quarry/ghost town in Mackinac County) and it is marked “No Trespassing”. Just for my own piece of mind, I call the Conservancy and get permission to go see it. For safety reasons, there are certain areas (like any caves) that we are not allowed to enter. We were also told that we might encounter some logging trucks on the narrow road. They can’t back up - but we can. So, we would have to put our vehicle in reverse and drive backwards until we could find a place wide enough for the truck to pass.

Our first attempt to see Fiborn Quarry was over the Fourth of July weekend (2017). Fiborn Quarry Road is a narrow gravel road with standing water filling the ditches on both sides of the road. After about a half mile, we begin to see the road is becoming dotted with large pot holes filled with water. We manage to drive around a large number of them until we came to a flooded stretch crossing the entire road. Since we are unfamiliar with what might lie ahead, we decide the current road conditions may become impassable for our regular car to negotiate without the fear of getting stuck. The rainy summer has also brought out the insects – lots of them. Taking all things into consideration (including the possibility of encountering a logging truck), we determine this might be a better adventure for us to do during the fall months.

Fast forward three months later … We spend the night at the Birch Lodge Inn (a Michigan Historic Site near the town of Trout Lake in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula). After breakfast, we head to Fiborn Quarry. From the Lodge’s driveway on H-40, it is seven miles to Fiborn Quarry Road.

I am happy to see the gravel road is dry - far better road condition than it was during our early July visit. In about 8/10's of a mile, we see the brown Michigan Karst Conservancy sign. At this point, the road makes a sharp right curve.
Sign
We drive approximately one mile to a small parking lot on the left side of the road. There is supposed to be a pavilion with a kiosk about the history of Fiborn Quarry (1905-1936) and the beginning of the 1.5 mile trail to the ruins. We don’t see it. Later, I find out we should have driven a little farther down the road to reach that point. In the meantime, I have a little history about the quarry from some Internet research.

According to the Michigan Karst Conservancy website, The Michigan Karst Conservancy purchased this 480-acre property in 1987 and established the Fiborn Karst Preserve, managing it as a natural area open to the public under guidelines meant to prevent damage to natural features, vandalism and unsupervised, unsafe cave exploration. A small town grew up next to the quarry, which included an elementary school, a boarding house, a company store and housing for employees and their families. Fiborn Karst Preserve features two self-guided trails highlighting natural and historic features. The Sinkhole Trail is a short loop past many shallow sinkholes and a creek disappearing below ground. The 1.5-mile Barbara Ann Patrie Memorial Trail travels along the edge of the quarry, through second-growth forest and past sinks, and Fiborn Pond.”

At this little parking lot there is an old road with a gated entrance. There are some people here that just finished their walk. They tell us this road will take us to the mining ruins. We walk around the gate and begin our easy half mile walk down the leafless tree-lined road toward this historic site.   
Road to Ruins
To our left is the quarry floor. Its gray rocky landscape reminds me of a moonscape. On our right is a limestone wall bathed in golden light from the late afternoon sun. Soon we see Fiborn Pond to our left. That means we are near the ruins.
Quarry Floor
 Limestone Wall
Fiborn Pond
Here’s the bad news - we have about an hour of daylight. The good news is - we will have the "ghost town" all to ourselves. So, we can enjoy the silence while we walk around the abandoned ruins.

We see the first building at Fiborn Quarry. It was used to sort and load the ore into the railroad cars. 
  Ore Sorting & Loading Building
Inside the Ore Sorting & Loading Building

Next, we go over to the large building where they stored and repaired the locomotives. Like the sign says – these are historic buildings please treat them with respect. You know the saying “take only pictures, leave only footprints”. The sunlight and shadows make for some interesting photo opportunities.
Locomotive Shed/Repair Shop
Sign
Light & Shadows Inside Building
The last building we see is the Powerhouse.
 Dry Cracked Ground near Power House
Ruins of Power House
Power House Wall
Shadows on Wall
The sun is sinking lower in the western sky when we notice the nearly full moon is already riding high in the early evening sky. That's our cue to hike back to the car.   

If you are interested in other Michigan ghost tows, I invite you to view my blog posts by clicking on the following links:
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