Discovering the Ghost Towns of the Keweenaw
Mined since the Bronze Age, but not anymore
The Keweenaw Peninsula is the end of the earth. The outpost of the outpost. South Haven to Copper Harbor is a 10-hour drive. Far beyond the Mackinac Bridge, this rocky piece of lonely earth stabs defiantly into the unforgiving waters of Lake Superior.
I’m in the Keweenaw in search of Copper Country ghost towns. Any relics or signs from the copper mining past. I start my search in Houghton, head to Freda, Delaware Mine, and finally, Clifton.
People have come, but few have stayed. In the 1800s, there was a copper boom in the Keweenaw. Mining companies decided to dig here. Countless shafts penetrated deep into this northern soil. Thousands of men in dark mines wrestled precious metal from the earth. Towns sprung up, houses were built, families were made, life was lived.
