Near Calumet in Houghton County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
The Copper Country
Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, June 30, 2022
1. The Copper Country Marker
Inscription.
The Copper Country. . Long before Columbus reached America, Indians extracted native copper in the Lake Superior region and worked it into articles which were used by tribes throughout the continent. French explorers learned of the vast copper deposits but were not able to mine the metal. In 1771 an English group tried without success to mine copper near the Ontonagon Boulder, a huge mass of native copper weighing three tons. In 1841 Douglass Houghton's survey of copper resources was printed Prospectors by the hundreds soon flocked here. Boom towns sprang up. The Phoenix was the first real mine to begin operation, but the Cliff was the first to show a profit. Soon miners were tapping the rich deposits all along the Keweenaw Peninsula's backbone. Until 1887 this was the country's leading center of copper production. This has been virtually the only area in the world with any substantial native copper production. Copper is found in combination with other elements at the White Pine Mine where a great new mining operation began in the 1950's.
Long before Columbus reached America, Indians extracted native copper in the Lake Superior region and worked it into articles which were used by tribes throughout the continent. French explorers learned of the vast copper deposits but were not able to mine the metal. In 1771 an English group tried without success to mine copper near the Ontonagon Boulder, a huge mass of native copper weighing three tons. In 1841 Douglass Houghton's survey of copper resources was printed Prospectors by the hundreds soon flocked here. Boom towns sprang up. The Phoenix was the first real mine to begin operation, but the Cliff was the first to show a profit. Soon miners were tapping the rich deposits all along the Keweenaw Peninsula's backbone. Until 1887 this was the country's leading center of copper production. This has been virtually the only area in the world with any substantial native copper production. Copper is found in combination with other elements at the White Pine Mine where a great new mining operation began in the 1950's.
Erected 1957 by Michigan Historical Commission. (Marker Number 30.)
47° 10.598′ N, 88° 30.447′ W. Marker is near Calumet, Michigan, in Houghton County. It can be reached from U.S. 41 half a mile north of Airport Park Road, on the right when traveling north. Located at the Memorial Airport Roadside Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Calumet MI 49913, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and in Copper Country. It is also in the American Midwest, on the Great Lakes, and on Lake Superiors South Shore Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Great North Woods, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Northwest Territory.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 16, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 5, 2022, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 352 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on July 5, 2022, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
