Part of a series of articles titled Copper Connections.
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Industrial Mining
Isle Royale and the Keweenaw are more similar than one would first think. Both the island and the peninsula have histories of industrial copper mining, with the Keweenaw having had the most mining operations. Even though companies heavily favored the mainland, there are striking similarities between how the two mining locations developed.
Mining frontiers have often followed a common pattern. Interest in an area rose from a discovery or from rumors that a valuable metal had been found. If the deposit warranted actual exploration, investments in settlements, roads, and other infrastructure were made. Upon further success, equipment and facilities were modernized to increase efficiency, and trained engineers and geologists would be hired to increase operations. Ultimately, deposits would play out and the mines would close, often leaving ghost towns or other industries to take mining’s place. Both are reflected in Michigan’s Copper Country.
On Isle Royale, there were three phases of historic mining. The first phase (1843-1855) started as a result of the regional mineral rush. Much of the era is represented by exploration activities, where small outfits canvassed the island archipelago for copper bearing exposures with little success.
The second (1873-1881) saw a reinvigorated interest due to an increase in copper prices resulting from the Civil War. Several companies purchased island acreages, but only two were capitalized enough to make a real go of it (Island Mining Company and the Minong Mining Company).
The final phase (1889-1893) was largely credited to a single man, Jacob Houghton, who continued to see potential on Isle Royale, despite all past failures. the early 1840s. Despite new mining technologies, a profitable copper resource was never located. This failure represented the end of copper exploration and mining on Isle Royale.
*The following map points are approximations to help protect the resources.*
Esri, CGIAR, USGS | Province of Ontario, Esri Canada, Esri, TomTom, Garmin, SafeGraph, FAO, METI/NASA, USGS, EPA, NPS, USFWS, NRCan, Parks Canada
Mining on the Keweenaw can also be viewed in phases. In general, mines in the 1840s focused on exploiting mass copper (large pieces of nearly pure metal). Ideally, those mines had ready access to waterways, which eased travel, exploration, and transporting ore to smelters elsewhere. After a relatively short period, and realizing copper masses were sporadic and unreliable, mines either folded or switched focus to copper lodes (amygdaloid or conglomerate), which were more cost effective to mine and process. As more roads and rails were connected, these mines could exploit areas which were once inaccessible. The following map represents a small percentage of the total mines in the area (which numbered in the hundreds).
*The following map points are approximations to help protect the resources.*
Esri, CGIAR, USGS | Esri, TomTom, Garmin, SafeGraph, FAO, METI/NASA, USGS, EPA, NPS, USFWS
Recent historical research and subsequent archaeology performed has helped to illustrate these copper connections that have existed for years. The following virtual tour will feature some of the findings and insights gained at select mine sites.
*The following map points are approximations to help protect the resources.*
NPS | Source: Airbus,USGS,NGA,NASA,CGIAR,NLS,OS,NMA,Geodatastyrelsen,GSA,GSI and the GIS User Community
National Visual Inventory Cards 60-299 / W.W. Dunmire
Siskowit Mine (est. 1844)
One common thread between the mines on Isle Royale and the Keweenaw is in how they developed a mine. In the dense wilderness isolated from major settlements, hard work and tenacity was needed to plant the seeds of a productive mine. In 1844, Siskowit Mining Company acquired 6 mineral claims as hopes ran high from Douglass Houghton's 1841 copper report. To make a claim, the company first needed to build and occupy a structure.
Andrew Anklam
How can history guide archaeology? Historic records exist from Siskowit Mining Company describing their efforts to "grow" a productive mine. Using these and other records, archaeologists recently braved the wilderness in search of the "claim cabins" described within. Although no definitive archaeological proof was found for these cabins, other structures were located, and future excavations may yield more definitive results.
Andrew Anklam
Whittlesey, Charles. Ancient Mining on the Shores of Lake Superior. (Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1863; Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, no. 155)
Another link between the mines of the Keweenaw and Isle Royale is mass copper. The early mines enthusiastically searched for their own bonanza of mass copper using the indigenous mine pits as guides.
In 2020, with similar enthusiasm, archaeologists sought to improve the understanding of how industrial mining companies used indigenous pits as a guide by inventorying around Quincy Mine. Although no definitive archaeological proof was found, hopes were not completely dashed as depression-like features were discovered, and future excavations may yield more conclusive results.
NPS photo
From its humble beginnings as a prospect site in 1846, Quincy Mine ultimately became one of the most successful mines on the Keweenaw.
Not all mines were as fortunate as Quincy.
Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech Archives.
Delaware also used Indigenous pits as a guide to find mass copper. After little success, a transition to conglomerate mining brought brief optimism and investment but yielded similarly poor results.
Archaeologists surveyed the area of Delaware Mine and developed the following conclusions in their subsequent report:
NPS photo
"Most mine sites on the peninsula developed through all of these phases, but it is rare to find evidence for each phase together in one place. What makes Delaware Mine unique is that evidence for all mining phases is found throughout the property."
Although the mining company's hopes for wealth never came to fruition, today the site is a wealth of information on how Lake Superior mines developed.
Minong Mine on Isle Royale shares a similar industrial past.
NPS photo
Another connection that binds the mines of the Keweeenaw and Isle Royale is hope. Mining at Minong commenced in 1875 with optimism abound. From the Mining Company 1875 Prospectus: "… No spot in the Lake Superior country yet discovered shows anything like the amount [of precontact mining activity] seen on this property. This was undoubtedly the great mining centre of the ancients."
NPS photo
NPS photo
From the Minong Copper Mining District National Historic Landmark Nomination: "Of the mining operations established on Isle Royale, the Minong Mining Company (1874-1883) was the largest and most productive. The company emphasized the size of the precontact pit concentration as evidence of vast subterranean mineral wealth, and the operation yielded nearly half a million pounds of copper during its period of operation."
Like many mining ventures on the Keweenaw and Isle Royale, optimism was short lived with mining having ceased in 1885.
Last updated: March 6, 2024