Keweenaw Peninsula

1997 Mining History Association Field Trip

Keweenaw Peninsula Copper Mines

Houghton, Michigan

June 8, 1997
(Reconstructed 2020)

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A boulder of float copper sits in front of the Calumet and Hecla Public Library in Calumet.	The Calumet and Hecla General Office Building is now the headquarters of the Keweenaw National Historical Park.
The Superior Boiler House with its distinctive chimney, supplied steam power to the Calumet and Hecla buildings in Calumet.	Statue of Alexander Agassiz, President of Calumet and Hecla from 1871 to 1910. He was a Swiss immigrant sent to manage the mines by his brother-in-law, Quincy Shaw, the principle stockholder.
The Mine Captain’s Office (left) was the nerve center of the Hecla Mining Company’s underground operations. Both the Hecla and the Calumet Mining Company were subsidiaries of the parent Calumet and Hecla. They were consolidated by Agassiz in 1871.	The Miscowaubik Club was originally a Mine Captain’s house. It was later converted to an elite social club.
(Above) The Calumet Visitor Center of the Keweenaw National Historical Park, located in the Union Building (ca1889), is home to an excellent museum. The building was the former lodge hall for the Odd Fellows and the Masons. (Right) Immigrants from many countries flocked to the Michigan copper mines in response to recruiting posters such as the one shown here. Cornish miners were particularly sought after because of their mining skills; however, the diverse mining communities also included Canadians, Irish, Germans, Croatians, Finns, Italians, Chinese, Syrians, and Greeks.
The archway is all that remains of the Italian Mutual Benefit Society Hall. Seventy-three people died after a false fire alarm panicked a crowd attending a Christmas Eve celebration in 1913. It was one of Michigan’s worst tragedies. The building was demolished in 1964 but the arch was saved.	This museum exhibit is a cabinet from a Cornish miner’s kitchen. CLICK HERE to see what is inside the lunch bucket.
(Above) The Church of St. Paul the Apostle is an example of the impressive architecture of many buildings in Calumet and other Copper Country cities. The local Jacobsville red sandstone was a popular building material. (Right) Calumet's mining heritage is recognized in this stained-glass window dedicated to St Barbara, patron saint of miners.

The restored Calumet Theater, built in 1899, was the largest municipal theater of its day. It still hosts many performances. It is an example of the impressive architecture of many historic buildings in Calumet and other cities in the Copper Country.

Johnny Johnsson with a mucker at the Coppertown Mining Museum in Calumet.