Keweenaw Mines

Mike and I traveled to the Keweenaw Peninsula, which juts out in Lake Superior. We stayed in Houghton for two nights, and one of the highlights of our stay was exploring an old copper mine. Hancock, Houghton's sister city across the Portage River, was home to a copper mining industry that saw its heyday in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In fact, mining companies recruited foreigners, including many Finns, to work in the mines. Considering that the Keweenaw Peninsula has similar weather to that of Finland, the Finns probably more easily adjusted to their new homes than other immigrants not used to such harsh winter conditions.

So, here are Mike and I, all ready to go into the deep, dark depths of the mine. We had to wear jackets, as the mine was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and hardhats to protect our heads.






After taking a vehicle on a track down the hill, we then took another tractor-driven vehicle inside the mine. This was not the way the workers entered it, but it was still cool to go down there.

Here's Mike in the mine. It was really cold there, and the guide even gave us a bit of a demonstration about what it was like to work in this kind of mine during the 19th century, when the only light available came from a candle. Of course, electricity changed everything, but it was still really harsh work.