The discovery of copper in
Keweenaw County caused the creation of communities willing to accept
the challenges and dangerous conditions of copper mining. Copper
changed the face of Keweenaw County and served as a catalyst to
economic success until its collapse in the last century.
Copper mining has been done for
centuries. The Native Americans mined the copper to make tools and
jewelry. According to Wikipedia, “In
most years from 1850 through 1881, Michigan produced more than
three-quarters of the nation's copper, and in 1869 produced more than
95% of the country's copper.“
Eventually, the mines became
unproductive and it wasn’t cost efficient to continue. Mining
operations cease, the population declines, and a town dies … and
that, my friends, is how a ghost town is born.
Obviously, copper and the
communities surrounding the mines play an important role in
Keweenaw’s history. These remnants of the past are here for us
today ,,, it’s time to find some of Keweenaw County’s ghost
towns.
