Keweenaw Guide 2014 Issue
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National Park Service Park News U.S. Department of the Interior The official newspaper of Keweenaw National Historical Park and the Keweenaw Heritage Sites The Keweenaw Guide 2014 Issue Photo by Nathan Miller The Quincy Mining Company built the Quincy Smelting Works on the banks of the Portage Canal in 1898. Quincy constructed the smelter to refine and ship its own copper, as well as to process copper from neighboring mining operations. Quincy began with What’s Inside several sandstone furnace buildings and other support structures, adding buildings as technologies changed over time. With the decline of the industry after World War II, local Visitor Information …………………….2 sources of copper diminished to the point that it was no longer profitable to keep the Superintendent Welcome……………..3 facility open, and in 1971 Quincy closed the smelter. Fortunately, rather than scrap it, the company locked the doors and left the complex intact. Franklin Township took Doing Research at the Park.....…….....3 ownership in 1999. Bats and Mines……………..…………...3 Although the site decayed over the years, the smelter remained a unique and special place. Keweenaw Heritage Sites ......…….4-5 In 1978, the Historic American Engineering Record documented the smelter complex in its study of the Quincy Mining Company. Due to the historic resources at the site, the National Park Bookstore …………………………6 Park Service (NPS) then included the complex in the Quincy Mining Company National Historic Landmark District, and ultimately within the boundaries of Keweenaw National Project SISU…......………………………6 Historical Park. As the only remaining site of its type left in the United States, the smelter provided an exceptional opportunity to tell the stories of industrial workers. Calumet & Quincy Maps ..……………7 Junior Ranger Program.........………….8 In 2007, at the urging of U.S. Senator Carl Levin, a group of interested parties began working together to save the crumbling smelter. The NPS assisted the owner, Franklin Township, with stabilizing many of the historic structures on the property. The Environmental Protection Agency conducted environmental cleanup activities and delisted the site from the national Superfund list. A local nonprofit group, the Quincy Smelter Association, began giving tours to the general public. The combined actions of these parties demonstrated to the community that the smelter was much more than a seemingly abandoned industrial complex: it was a place that people cared about, a place that should be preserved. Keweenaw National Historical Park was established to preserve and interpret the natural and Today, the Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission and the NPS are cultural resources related to exploring possibilities for the future reuse of the smelter. The Advisory Commission is in the copper mining industry for the process of acquiring the site from Franklin Township, and the NPS would like to further the enjoyment and benefit of rehabilitate the historic structures and offer expanded public tours. There are even current and future generations through discussions about the possible relocation of Isle Royale National Park’s facilities from cooperative efforts and partnerships with state and local governments, public and Houghton to the eastern portion of the smelter site. The transformation of the Quincy private entities. Smelter is well under way, and even more exciting changes are planned for the near future. By Scott See, Executive Director Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission Heritage Sites 4-5 Bookstore 6 Maps 7 Junior Rangers 8 Visitor Services and Facilities FOOD AND RESTAURANTS Accessibility A variety of restaurants are Keweenaw National Historical Park located throughout the The Calumet Visitor Center 25970 Red Jacket Road Keweenaw Peninsula. Grocery stores and the information desk at Calumet, MI 49913 are also available in all towns. Quincy Mine are accessible. Website: www.nps.gov/kewe Some National Park Service facilities Facebook: www.facebook.com/ CAMPING located in historic structures, as well as keweenawNHP several Keweenaw Heritage Sites, are not Park Headquarters: 906-337-3168 Camping options are available accessible at this time. Information on which Calumet Visitor Center: 906-483-3176 across the Keweenaw Peninsula. sites have accessible facilities is located in Fax: 906-337-3169 Community-operated and private camp- CALUMET VISITOR CENTER grounds are also available. For more infor- the centerfold of the newspaper. Sites 2014 Keweenaw Guide mation, contact the Keweenaw Convention indicated as accessible may require Design and layout: Kathleen Harter and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-338-7982 or assistance in certain areas. Other parts of Editors: Kristine Bradof, Jo Urion Holt, the site may not be accessible. Contact sites Valerie Newman visit www.keweenaw.info. directly for further information on Let park rangers provide area information Photography: Kite Aerial Photography with to help you plan your visit. Explore the LODGING accessibility prior to visiting. Nathan Invincible, Merlin Tuttle at BCI, NPS historic structure and two floors of stock photos A full range of lodging can be interactive and accessible exhibits and Contributors include: Nick Clark, Ruth found across the Keweenaw KEWEENAW NHP INFORMATION DESK audio-visual programs, including Risk and Harmala, Kathleen Harter, Jeremiah Mason, Peninsula. Contact the Keweenaw Located at the entrance Resilience, a free 14-minute film about the Mike Pflaum, Aerran Riley, Scott See Convention and Visitors Bureau for more to the Quincy Mine Gift area’s history, people, and the park. information 1-800-338-7982 or Shop, an information desk Assisted listening devices available, as well Printing of The Keweenaw www.keweenaw.info. contains travel and trip planning information as closed captioning. Bookstore purchases Guide courtesy of the Isle about the park and Keweenaw Heritage Sites. (books, games, posters, postcards, shirts, Royale and Keweenaw SPECIAL EVENTS Staffing varies and depends on the season. hats, patches, and more) support the park. Parks Association. Many local communities and Keweenaw Located at 98 Fifth Street in Calumet. Heritage Sites offer special events including Please call 906-483-3176 or visit the park Printed by Quad/Graphics parades, musical performances, festivals, website at www.nps.gov/kewe for the on recycled paper using races, and more. Check the schedule of latest information on days and hours agri-based inks. Please Recycle. events at www.keweenawheritagesites.org. of operation. The National Park Service cares for the special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage. Hanka Homestead Hanka Calumet/Laurium Central Chassell Copper Harbor Delaware Harbor Eagle River Eagle Greenland Hancock Houghton Linden Lake Ontonagon Phoenix Quincy Hill South Range Victoria MWSP Porcupine Hanka Homestead – 35 53 15 70 58 59 51 60 24 22 36 73 49 26 55 72 89 Calumet/Laurium 35 – 18 20 35 23 24 16 51 11 13 4 51 14 11 22 63 82 Central Mine 53 18 – 38 17 5 14 6 69 29 31 22 55 4 29 40 81 100 Chassell Heritage 15 20 38 – 55 43 44 36 45 9 7 21 58 34 11 12 57 74 Copper Harbor 70 35 17 55 – 12 14 22 86 46 43 39 72 21 46 57 98 117 Delaware 58 23 5 43 12 – 19 11 74 36 38 27 60 9 34 45 86 105 Eagle Harbor 59 24 14 44 14 19 – 8 75 35 37 28 88 10 35 46 87 106 Eagle River 51 16 6 36 22 11 8 – 67 27 29 20 80 2 27 38 79 98 Adventure Mine 60 51 69 45 86 74 75 67 – 40 38 52 13 65 42 33 12 29 Hancock 24 11 29 9 46 36 35 27 40 – 2 12 53 25 2 7 52 69 Houghton 22 13 31 7 43 38 37 29 38 2 – 14 51 27 4 5 50 67 Lake Linden 36 4 22 21 39 27 28 20 52 12 14 – 65 37 14 19 64 81 Ontonagon 73 51 55 58 72 60 88 80 13 53 51 65 – 78 55 46 16 16 Phoenix 49 14 5 34 21 9 10 2 65 25 27 37 78 – 25 36 77 96 Quincy Hill 26 11 29 11 46 34 35 27 42 2 4 14 55 25 – 11 54 71 Keweenaw Mileage Chart Mileage Keweenaw Copper Range 55 22 40 12 57 45 46 38 33 7 5 19 46 36 11 – 45 62 Old Victoria 72 63 81 57 98 86 87 79 12 52 50 64 16 77 54 45 – 32 Porcupine MWSP 89 82 97 74 115 105 106 98 29 69 67 81 16 96 71 62 32 – 2 The Keweenaw Guide Greetings from the Doing Research at the Park Park Superintendent Mining Company Public Library building at the southeast corner of Red Welcome to Jacket Road and Mine Street in Calumet. Keweenaw Plans for the rehabilitation of the historic National C&H Public Library building include Historical Park changes to allow for universal accessibil- (KNHP), one of ity. In the meantime, please notify park 401 units of your National Park staff if you are not able to navigate stairs, System. The and they will arrange research space for park is one of the nation’s special places, you in another building. established to tell the story of copper on the Keweenaw Peninsula and preserve the attendant The best place to start family history historic structures, landscapes, and other research is Michigan Technological resources. The people of the National Park University Archives and Copper Service do this together with many park partners, Archival collections at Keweenaw Country History Collections. Michigan including the Keweenaw NHP Advisory National Historical Park (KNHP) include Tech holds the majority of the records Commission and the Keweenaw Heritage Sites, Calumet and Hecla Mining Company from the Calumet and Hecla Mining which include twenty one organizations and Quincy Mining Company records, Company and the Quincy Mining operating twenty eight sites spread over other business records, records from Company, including employment approximately 800,000 acres of the peninsula.