Houghton and Calumet, Michigan

Sept 22 – left Munising and drove to Houghton, MI.  about a 3.5 hr drive.  It poured the last hour of the drive – rained hard enough to clean the windshield!  We stayed at the Houghton City RV Park.  Only 25 spaces.

We lucked out and got a space right next to the river.  A perfect spot! 

Dan, the host of the park, gave Mike a bunch of maps & brochures of things to see in the area.
Sept 23 – a gorgeous day after yesterday’s downpours.  We drove up to Calumet, an old copper mining town.

Went to the Keweenaw National Historic Park headquarters and museum.  So much history about the copper mining days.   

Got a lot of info on where to go and what to see – so we jumped in the car and went on a great road trip of the coast, the waterfalls, overlooks, etc.  

We drove quite a bit and saw a lot of the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Got back to the RV and Mike took a snooze on the bench along the water's edge. 

Quincy Copper Mine:  An underground copper mine that began exploration in 1846 and organized in 1848. Began operations working a fissure vein of native copper until 1856 when the Pewabic amygdaloid lode was discovered crossing the property. Operated continuously from 1848 to 1931. Closed from 1931 to 1937, then re-opened from 1937 to 1945. 9 shafts were driven; 2 of these shafts, #2 and #6, reached 9,280 ft. deep on the incline (approx. 6,800 ft vertical). No. 7 shaft is unique in that is was driven on a catenary curve. In 99 years of operation, Quincy produced 424,000 tons of native copper from the underground workings. A large amount of native silver was also recovered from the mine. Starting in 1947 and continuing through 1968, another 50,000 tons of copper was recovered from reclamation activities in Torch Lake.
Sept 24 – went on a tour of the Quincy Copper Mine.  This mine shut down in 1945.  For the tour, we were suited with helmet and jacket.

Temperature down in the mine is 43 degrees.  Then we rode a cog-rail tram car down the hill to the mine entrance.  We were transferred from the tram to a tractor-pulled wagon for a ride into the mine. 

The tour only went down some 700 feet into the mine.  The tour guide was very informative and told the us quite a bit about the history of copper mining.

The lower parts of the mine are now flooded.  There is still copper in the mine, but it costs more to mine the copper than it would sell for.  The No. 2 Shaft House was completed in 1908 and was used until 1931. 

             

           

Glad we went on this tour – learned a lot about the struggles and hardships the miners and their families endured.

Nordberg Steam Hoist - the world's largest steam-powered hoist engine. Completed in 1920, this hoist made it possible for the Quincy Mining Company to extend its No. 2 Shaft 92 levels underground, an inclined distance of nearly two miles.  The building was one of the first very large reinforced concrete buildings ever built. Nearly five stories high, it has no interior supporting columns.

Went back to the RV for lunch.  After lunch Mike went for a walk in downtown Houghton (pronounced “Hutton”)

That's all from Houghton, MI