Whenever the written word can be complemented with other media, for example, worthwhile actual photographs, a more complete understanding of the past is experienced. Literally, a picture is worth a thousand words, and the student can gain, for himself, a more penetrating insight into his subject which words alone cannot always provide him.
In publishing Michigan’s Copper Country In Early Photos, a pictorial account of the Copper Country around 1900, the Black Letter Press has made a more complete understanding of the region possible by supplementing its written histories with the varied collection of photographs. The area’s setting, its people, and their work are portrayed. Originally, the book was published as, Souvenir of the Copper Country Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Copies of this original work are extremely scarce today.
In his introduction to the original publication, B.E. Tyler, the publisher, states that the Copper Country is a place of natural beauty, with the mining of copper from the bowels of the earth as the district’s major industry. This was written in 1903, and the pictures presented in the volume’s pages offer supportive evidence to his words. However, time has moved on, and much has both changed and remained the same in the Copper Country.
Tyler mentions a picture of the Cliff Mining Camp, and relates that the work has been abandoned, but, “almost every house that was ever erected there is standing.” This is no longer true. All structures have been dismantled, and all that remains of the once proud and fabulous Cliff mine are a few poor rock piles.
The many gabled, and uniquely constructed Quincy Rock House was to be found in Hancock, and it was reputed to be the most photographed mine structure of its kind in the country. It was destroyed by fire in 1956.
The Douglas House, a famous meeting place, and hotel, in Houghton still remains, although its appearance has been altered, and its surroundings have changed.
The Kerredge Theater, in Hancock, was completed in 1902, with some seats costing as much as forty dollars for a single performance. Popular shows, Shakespearian plays, and operas, were presented on its stage.
Copper mining no longer remains the major industry of the area. Once where many shafts were sunk deep into the earth, and their rockhouses lined the horizon, only a few remain today as reminders of a bygone era, standing as ever vigilant sentinels, guarding what may be left of their once rich copper deposits. Gone are the giant hoisting machines used to bring copper ore to the surface. Gone are the miners, who labored hard by candlelight with simple hand tools, replaced by today’s modern miner using his battery operated head lamp, and power machinery when work is available. Only exploratory and experimental work is presently being conducted in the Copper Country.
One aspect of the Copper Country which remains relatively unchanged is its rugged natural beauty. The sparkling clear deep blue waters of chilling Lake Superior still crash upon its rocky tree lined shores. A green mantle of dense forests covers much of the land, which in places is wild and mountainous. Water still rushes over spectacular falls as it flows onward toward the world’s largest fresh water lake. Past and present residents, and many visitors, have witnessed the scenic panorama, with some insisting that the climate of the Copper Country has an exhilarating, and refreshing therapeutic affect upon them.
Suggested reading material on the Copper Country might include the following titles that are considered to be of more than passing interest: Red Metal, by C. Harry Benedict, Prehistoric Copper Mining in the Lake Superior Region, edited by Roy W. Drier, and Octave J. DuTemple, Boom Copper, by Angus Murdock, and The Cliff, by Donald Chaput. Also of worthwhile reading are such historical novels on the region as, Where Copper Is King, by James Wright, published in 1905, and, The Long Winter Ends, by Newton G. Thomas.