79-649: The Shelden Avenue Historic District is a commercial historic district located along Shelden, Lake, & Montezuma Avenues in Houghton, Michigan . The district contains 43 contributing buildings (including the Douglass House and the Shelden-Dee Block , both separately listed) in an area of 22 acres. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The structures in
158-666: A demand bus and a route bus throughout Houghton and in nearby parts of Portage Township; there are also night trips to Mont Ripley in Ripley . Houghton is the port of departure for Isle Royale National Park . Cruise ships on the great lakes formerly (in the 1950s) used to frequently stop in Houghton, but this is now an exceedingly rare occurrence. Houghton is served by the Houghton County Memorial Airport , which has limited commercial service. Houghton
237-429: A female householder with no husband present, 3.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 61.9% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age in the city was 22.1 years. 10.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 56.2% were between
316-417: A movie theater, and a railroad passenger depot are also included within the district's boundaries. The structures are built in a range of architectural styles, including Late Victorian commercial , Richardsonian Romanesque , Sullivanesque , Renaissance Revival , Prairie School , and gable -roofed vernacular buildings. Nearly all of the most significant structures were designed by architects from outside of
395-433: A single mass of copper, miners could spend months chiseling it into pieces small enough to hoist out of the mine. Although they were pure copper, removing the masses took a great deal of effort, and was sometimes not even profitable. The majority of the copper recovered was "barrel copper" (pieces broken from the rock and hand sorted in the "rock house," and shipped to the smelter in barrels), and finer copper broken loose from
474-657: A strip about two miles (3.2 km) wide and 24 miles (39 km) long, from the Champion mine on the southwest to the Ahmeek mine on the northeast, passing through the towns of Houghton , Hancock , and Calumet . In the early 20th century, copper companies began to consolidate. With very few exceptions, such as the Quincy Mine at Hancock , the mines in the Copper Country came under the control of two companies:
553-945: A yearly Winter Carnival in February, drawing thousands of visitors from around the world. Michigan Tech's athletic teams are nicknamed the Huskies , and compete primarily in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). The Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey team competes in the NCAA Division I Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), and has won three national championships , in 1962 , 1965 , and 1975 . Native Americans mined copper in and around what would later be Houghton thousands of years before European settlement. "French explorers had noted... [its] existence [in
632-420: A yearly Winter Carnival in which thousands of visitors come to see snow sculptures built by members of fraternities, sororities, other student organizations, as well as a few community groups, and participate in the week-long celebration. Students at the university also receive several days of vacation for Carnival. As part of Winter Carnival 2006, the city of Houghton and the university broke three world records:
711-569: Is also very active from November through April, for snowmobiling, skiing and other winter sports. As of the census of 2020, there were 8,386 people residing in the city, living in 2,533 households with an average of 2.30 people per household. As of the census of 2010, there were 7,708 people, 2,380 households, and 907 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,732.1 inhabitants per square mile (668.8/km ). There were 2,516 housing units at an average density of 565.4 units per square mile (218.3 units/km ). The racial makeup of
790-487: Is even stenciled on city property. Since Houghton and Hancock are very near each other, their combined area is often referred to as "Houghton-Hancock," though the towns are often fierce rivals, something particularly manifested by the sports rivalry between Houghton High School and Hancock Central. Tourism is a major industry in Houghton. Summer tourism is very popular, especially among those wishing to tour old mines, visit various historical sites, and camp. Winter tourism
869-499: Is in a climate much farther north. It holds the distinction of having the third-most (behind Duluth and International Falls in Minnesota ) maxima below 32 °F (0 °C) of any incorporated city in the contiguous US, with the top temperature failing to rise above freezing an average of 100.9 days per year. It is sometimes said that Houghton has "two seasons: winter’s here and winter’s coming". While Houghton's winters may be
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#1732771779335948-582: Is land and 0.24 square miles (0.62 km ) is water. In the West Houghton neighborhood is West Houghton Park , featuring an outdoor ice rink and lawn tennis courts. Along Portage Lake is the Raymond Kestner Waterfront Recreation Area, the principal feature of which is a large " Chutes and Ladders " playground ; it also includes Houghton Beach. Along the waterfront, in the area that used to be occupied by
1027-666: Is located on the Yellow Dog Plains , about 25 miles northwest of Marquette , in Michigan 's Upper Peninsula. Construction work started in 2010, with commercial production commencing 2014 and anticipated to last up to nine years. After mining is finished the site will be reclaimed. The mine is expected to produce 360 million pounds of nickel, 295 million pounds of copper and small amounts of other metals over its nine-year mine life (2014 to Q4 2023). Other base metals include platinum, palladium, and cobalt. Ores will be processed at
1106-511: Is named for him. In the 1970s the construction of a parking deck and the connection of downtown stores to create Shelden Center significantly changed the downtown. William W. Henderson was appointed the first postmaster of Houghton in 1852. In 1854, Ernest F. Pletschke platted Houghton, and was incorporated as a village in 1861. In Houghton's first days it was said that "only thieves, crooks, murderers and Indians " lived there. The postwar boom and increasing demand for copper wiring fueled
1185-790: Is often the host of winter sporting events, due to its long winters and many ski hills. The 2006 cross-country skiing Junior Olympics took place in Houghton. The US National Championships for Nordic skiing took place in Houghton in January 2007. In addition, the International Frisbee Tournament (IFT) takes place every year in Houghton and the roll-out of the distance events of the Keweenaw Chain Drive bike races of Houghton and Hancock takes place in downtown Houghton. Other winter events focus around Michigan Technological University . Michigan Tech hosts
1264-561: Is the home of the Portage Lake Pioneers Senior Hockey Team. The team's home ice is Dee Stadium , named after James R. Dee. Dee Stadium was originally called the Amphidrome , before it was severely damaged in a 1927 fire. Houghton was incorporated as a city in 1970. In the winter of 2001, Houghton was the site of one of the first lumitalos (Finnish temporary snow houses) to be constructed in
1343-633: Is the largest city and county seat of Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan . Located on the Keweenaw Peninsula , Houghton is the largest city in the Copper Country region. It is the fifth-largest city in the Upper Peninsula , with a population of 8,386 at the 2020 census . Houghton is the principal city of the Houghton micropolitan area , which includes all of Houghton and Keweenaw counties. Houghton lies upon
1422-501: Is the primary employer in the city. The first known European settler of Houghton was named Ransom Shelden , who set up a store named Ransom's near Portage Lake, though it is unclear whether this was in the same building as the 1852 Shelden and Shafer drugs, sometimes described as "the first commercial building constructed in Houghton," which Shelden owned with his son Ransom B. The main street of Houghton, variously called "Sheldon Avenue," (incorrectly) Sheldon Street, and Shelden Avenue,
1501-496: Is the term for an ore sample that contains the pure copper and pure silver in the same piece of rock; it is only found in the native copper deposits of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Native Americans were the first to mine and work the copper of Lake Superior and the Keweenaw Peninsula of northern Michigan between 5000 BCE and 1200 BCE. The natives used this copper to produce tools. Archaeological expeditions in
1580-521: The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company north of Portage Lake , and Copper Range Company south of Portage Lake . Annual production peaked in 1916 at 266 million pounds (121,000 metric tons) of copper. Most mines closed during the Great Depression as a result of depressed copper prices. Many mines reopened during World War II , when wartime demand pushed copper prices higher. The end of
1659-479: The Civil War . Houghton is the headquarters for Isle Royale National Park . The Portage Lift Bridge spans Portage Lake , which is part of the river and canal system that crosses the entire peninsula, connecting Hancock and Houghton. The bridge, which provides 100 feet (30 m) of vertical clearance for ships when open, is the world's heaviest and widest double-decked vertical lift bridge. Since rail traffic
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#17327717793351738-592: The Cliff mine , began operations in 1845, and many others quickly followed. These first mines worked copper-filled fissure veins that cut across stratigraphic layers. Although the copper-mining region stretched about 100 miles from northeast to southwest, the most productive early mines, working fissure veins, were those at the north end in Keweenaw County (such as the Central, Cliff, and Phoenix mines), or at
1817-520: The Homestake Mining Company . None of these attempts lasted more than a couple of years or proved profitable. The copper industry was, for over 100 years, the life blood of the Copper Country. The town of Red Jacket (now Calumet ) used a portion of its budget surplus to build The Calumet Theatre , an opulent opera house which hosted famous plays and acts from across the world. Many wealthy mine managers built mansions which still line
1896-597: The Keweenaw Waterway , a partly natural, partly artificial waterway connecting at both ends to Lake Superior . Across the waterway from Houghton lies the city of Hancock . The city of Houghton was named for Douglass Houghton , an American geologist and physician , primarily known for his exploration of the Keweenaw Peninsula. Houghton is home to Michigan Technological University , a public research university founded in 1885. Michigan Tech hosts
1975-503: The Keweenaw Waterway . Most of these sterile sands are now superfund sites which are slowly being rehabilitated. Mines also required a great deal of wood, for supports in mine tunnels, housing, and steam generation. Virtually every part of the Copper Country was cleared of timber, to the extent that only a few small areas of old-growth forest like (the Estivant Pines ) are left. Formerly cleared lands have been left to regrow, to
2054-646: The Lake Superior region prized copper nuggets that they found there. Indians guided missionary Claude Dablon to the Ontonagon Boulder , a 1.5-ton piece of native copper along the Ontonagon River . When American prospectors arrived in the 1840s, pieces of copper were found in streams or on the ground. Douglass Houghton 's 1841 copper report, followed by the Treaty of La Pointe in 1843,
2133-428: The county airport (1891–2000). The greatest snow depth recorded was 73 inches (1.85 m) at the end of February 1937; in only two winters between 1891–1892 and 1999–2000 (1925–26 with 16 inches or 0.41 metres and 1932–33 with 19 inches or 0.48 metres) has the snow depth never reached at least two feet (24 inches or 0.61 metres). Every summer, the city of Houghton hosts a festival known as "Bridgefest", to commemorate
2212-611: The railroad was extended from Marquette . 1909 saw the founding of what would later become Portage Lake District Library . During the bitter Copper Country Strike of 1913-1914 , the Michigan National Guard was called in after the sheriff petitioned the governor. Houghton was the birthplace of professional ice hockey in the United States when the Portage Lakers were formed in 1903. Houghton
2291-457: The 19th and early 20th centuries. Its rise marked the start of copper mining as a major industry in the United States . Within the state of Michigan , copper is found almost exclusively in the western portion of the Upper Peninsula , in an area known as the Copper Country . The Copper Country is highly unusual among copper-mining districts, because copper is predominantly found in the form of pure copper metal ( native copper ) rather than
2370-592: The Calumet conglomerate, was opened by the Calumet and Hecla mining company in 1865. "Large scale production ceased in 1939." While the most successful fissure mines had been at the north and south ends of the district, the conglomerate and amygdaloid mines, which produced the great majority of Michigan copper, were concentrated in the center of the district, almost all in Houghton County. The most productive conglomerate and amygdaloid mines were located along
2449-743: The Central Houghton area (which includes the downtown ) and West Houghton. The Houghton, Michigan micropolitan area is a statistical aggregation of the United States census bureau. Houghton features in the novels A Superior Death and Winter Study by Nevada Barr and the Robin Hamilton mystery series by Nancy Barr . Much of Ander Monson 's Other Electricities takes place in Houghton. Copper mining in Michigan#Native American In Michigan , copper mining became an important industry in
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2528-1073: The Humboldt Mill in Michigamme Township. The concentrate is loaded into covered train cars and shipped to smelters in either Canada or Europe. Eagle Mine was the first operation to be permitted under Michigan's Non-Ferrous Metallic Mining Law, better known as Part 632. On March 13, 2013, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued Orvana Corporation, of Toronto, Ont. final permits to begin mining north of Wakefield, in Gogebic County. Orvana estimates that approximately one billion pounds of copper are present at their site, along with smaller quantities of silver. Studies indicate that 800 million pounds (360,000 metric tons) of copper can be extracted, as well as 3,456,000 ounces of silver. Production would last 13 years, based on those reserves. The project
2607-483: The Keweenaw Peninsula and Isle Royale revealed the existence of copper producing pits and hammering stones which were used to work the copper. Some authors have suggested that as much as 1.5 billion pounds of copper was extracted during this period, but some archaeologists consider such high figures as "ill-constructed estimates" and that the actual figure is unknown. Archaeologist Susan Martin wrote that "The competent excavation of many prehistoric archaeological sites in
2686-590: The Lake Superior basin reveals the continuous use of copper throughout the prehistoric time range, in association with all of the other items of material culture (projectile points, pottery and the like) that are without a doubt the products of native technologies. Many of these sites have been dated reliably by radiocarbon means.... Clearly, copper-working continues up until the years of aboriginal contact with seventeenth-century Europeans. The speculators could at least acknowledge these facts rather than pretend that
2765-621: The Portage Lake Lava Series lava tops and conglomerate beds. This series of lava "is at least 15,000 feet thick in the Michigan copper district" and consists of "several hundred flood basalt flows." The district rocks are Precambrian in age and belong to the Keweenawan Series. The first six years of mining exploited the fissure deposits, then gave way to the amygdaloidal deposits. Although native copper
2844-548: The Shelden Avenue Historic District range in age from the 1870s to the 1980s, but were primarily built in 1880-1910, during the copper boom that brought waves of workers into the Keweenaw Peninsula . The Shelden Avenue Historic District contains the western Upper Peninsula's largest concentration of architecturally significant commercial buildings. The district includes primarily commercial structures, but warehouses, lodge halls, municipal buildings,
2923-644: The United States. On October 28, 2002, the first day of issue ceremony was held in Houghton for the " snowman stamps" issued by the United States Postal Service . One of the 2006 United States Postal Service snowflake stamps ("photographed in Houghton by Caltech physicist Kenneth Libbrecht using a digital camera and special microscope") were unveiled in Houghton. A pictorial postmark commemorating Winter Carnival 2007, "Ancient Worlds Come to Play in Snowy Drifts of Modern Day",
3002-673: The Upper Peninsula boomed, and from 1845 until 1887 (when it was exceeded by Butte, Montana ) the Michigan Copper Country was the nation's leading producer of copper. In most years from 1850 through 1881, Michigan produced more than three-quarters of the nation's copper, and in 1869 produced more than 95% of the country's copper. Commercial production began in 1844 at the Phoenix mine. Most early miners began with little knowledge or planning, and few mines ever saw production, much less profit. The first successful copper mine,
3081-419: The age of 18 living with them, 31.6% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 58.5% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were one-person households, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.94. In the city, the population was spread out, with 12.0% under
3160-462: The age of 18, 55.2% from 18 to 24, 15.3% from 25 to 44, 10.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 160.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 173.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 21,186, and the median income for a family was $ 41,779. Males had a median income of $ 36,161 versus $ 28,639 for females. The per capita income for
3239-493: The ages of 18 and 24; 16.1% were from 25 to 44; 10.5% were from 45 to 64; and 7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 64.3% male and 35.7% female. As of the census of 2000, there were 7,010 people, 2,114 households, and 877 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,625.5 inhabitants per square mile (627.6/km ). There were 2,222 housing units at an average density of 515.2 units per square mile (198.9 units/km ). The racial makeup of
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3318-560: The area Copper Island . Smaller numbers of French-Canadian immigrants moved to Houghton, while more of them settled elsewhere in Houghton County. The last nearby mines closed in the late 1960s, but a school founded in 1885 by the Michigan State Legislature to teach metallurgy and mining engineering, the Michigan College of Mines, continues today under the name of Michigan Technological University and
3397-439: The area] as early as the seventeenth century, [and in] 1772 Alexander Henry had prospected for copper on the Ontonagon River near Victoria ." Many Cornish and Finnish immigrants arrived in the Houghton area to work in the copper mines in the mining boom that made Copper Country on the Keweenaw Peninsula; both groups have had a great influence on the culture and cuisine of the local area. The Finns and others called much of
3476-464: The association of copper with indigenous people doesn’t exist." By the time the first European explorers arrived, the area was the home of the Chippewa people, who did not mine copper. According to Chippewa traditions, they had much earlier supplanted the original miners. The first written account of copper in Michigan was given by French missionary Claude Allouez in 1667. He noted that Indians of
3555-620: The building of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge ; this is often held in conjunction with "Seafoodfest". Every fall, the Parade of Nations takes place in downtown Houghton to commemorate the ethnic diversity of Michigan Technological University. "Strawberry Fest" is held in neighboring Chassell every summer, which not only celebrates the fruit , but also includes an art market with paintings, photos, sculptures, and crafts. The city houses two museums. The Carnegie Museum , located in
3634-567: The city was $ 11,750. About 20.3% of families and 36.9% of the population were below the poverty line , including 21.9% of those under age 18 and 18.2% of those age 65 or over. The local school district is Houghton-Portage Township Schools . Students K-12 are served by Houghton Elementary (K-5), Middle (6–8), and High (9–12) Schools. Houghton is also the home of Michigan Technological University . Indian Trails bus lines operates daily intercity bus service between Hancock, Michigan , and Milwaukee, Wisconsin . Houghton Motor Transit operates both
3713-400: The city was 85.2% White , 1.0% African American , 0.4% Native American , 11.2% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 0.4% from other races , and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 1.8% of the population. There were 2,380 households, of which 18.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.6% were married couples living together, 6.3% had
3792-546: The city was 89.24% White , 1.87% Black or African American , 0.40% Native American , 6.79% Asian , 0.01% Pacific Islander , 0.24% from other races , and 1.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.77% of the population. 16.4% were of German , 12.7% Finnish , 8.2% Irish , 8.0% English , 6.0% Polish and 5.1% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000 . 94.8% spoke English , 1.8% Spanish and 1.2% Chinese as their first language. There were 2,114 households, out of which 21.1% had children under
3871-451: The company's Calumet division. By this time the Calumet and Hecla's original conglomerate workings had been abandoned and stamp sand reclamation had ended. The mines did not even produce enough copper to supply the company's internal demand. The company opened several new shafts and dewatered several old ones in hopes of finding additional wealth, but none were successful. Later that year, Calumet and Hecla's mine workers went out on strike, and
3950-665: The copper deposits in 1841, which quickly began a rush of prospectors. Mining took place along a belt that stretched about 100 miles southwest to northeast through Ontonagon , Houghton , and Keweenaw counties. Isle Royale , on the north side of Lake Superior , was extensively explored, and a smelter built, but no mining of any importance took place there. Some copper mineralization was found in Keweenawan rocks farther southwest in Douglas County, Wisconsin , but no successful mines were developed there. Copper mining in
4029-488: The copper oxides or copper sulfides that form the copper ore at almost every other copper-mining district. The copper deposits occur in rocks of Precambrian age, in a thick sequence of northwest-dipping sandstones , conglomerates , ash beds, and flood basalts associated with the Keweenawan Rift . The native copper deposits originate in fissures, steeply dipping veins or in the amygdaloid top portion of
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#17327717793354108-467: The development of Houghton in the 1860s and 1870s. Houghton gained in importance as a port with the opening of the Keweenaw Waterway in 1873, the waterway being the cumulative dredging and extension of the Portage Lake, Portage Shipping Canal and Lily Pond so as to isolate the northern part of the Keweenaw Peninsula into Copper Island. By 1880 Houghton had become "a burgeoning city" and in 1883,
4187-470: The extent that many parcels of land are now being harvested on a limited basis by timber and paper companies. The copper-bearing Nonesuch Shale at the south end of the Copper Country in Ontonagon County had been known since the 1800s. But the ore grades were too low, the ore mineral particles too small, and the copper was largely in sulfides instead of native copper. All these conditions made
4266-525: The former Portage Lake District Library building, contains photographs from the Raffaelli Historical Photo Collection, other artifacts on the history of the local area, a mural depicting the history of Houghton , Ontonagon , Baraga and Keweenaw Counties and exhibits of artwork . The AE Seaman Mineral Museum , state mineral museum of Michigan, is located on the campus of Michigan Technological University. Houghton
4345-408: The immediate area—typically from Detroit, Chicago, and Marquette, including the firms of Charlton, Gilbert and DeMar and Henry L. Ottenheimer. The structures range between one and four stories in height, and are in general constructed from local materials including waste rock from copper mines and native red sandstone. Houghton, Michigan Houghton ( / ˈ h oʊ t ən / ; HOH -tən )
4424-402: The largest snowball , the largest snowball fight , and the largest number of people making snow angels in one place. They currently still hold two of these records: largest snowball and largest snowball fight. The Daily Mining Gazette (formerly The Mining Gazette ) is a daily newspaper published in Houghton. The town is sometimes referred to by locals as "Hoton" or "Ho-town." "Hoton"
4503-743: The major industries. The copper industry left many abandoned mines and buildings across the Copper Country. Some of these are now part of the Keweenaw National Historical Park . Some mines, such as the Adventure mine , Quincy Mine , and the Delaware mine , are open as tourist attractions. Many other mining lands are simply left abandoned. Copper mining also took a significant impact on the environment. Mine rock processing operations left many fields of stamp sand , some of which grew so large as to become hazards to navigation in
4582-461: The mine for pharmaceutical research. The July 7th 2021 edition of the local news outlet Keweenaw Report has the headline: Mining set to return to White Pine . In addition to sedimentary copper ores that dominate the Upper Peninsula, Eagle Mine is a high-grade magmatic nickel-copper (Ni-Cu) sulfide-bearing deposit discovered by Rio Tinto in 2002 and later sold to Lundin Mining (2013). Eagle Mine
4661-624: The mine site. The tailings impoundment at the White Pine Mine is presently the site of significant environmental degradation . The University of Montana undertook extensive efforts to restore and revegetate the barren landscape from 1997 to 1999, but it is unclear whether this has been successful. The university has published a detailed report of its project. Satellite images are available at ( 46°47′17.91″N 89°31′47.97″W / 46.7883083°N 89.5299917°W / 46.7883083; -89.5299917 ). In 2012, SubTerra used
4740-479: The moderating effect of the lake, being reached only on 18.3 nights per year as against over fifty at International Falls. The coldest temperature on record is −30 °F (−34.4 °C), set on February 9, 1951. The heaviest monthly snow total was 119 inches (3.02 m) in December 1978; the winter of 1978–1979 saw 354.1 inches (8.99 m) of snow fall, making it the snowiest in 109 years of continuous records at
4819-475: The new owners closed the mines for good. Only the Copper Range company's White Pine mine remained open, and its ore was mostly copper sulfides, rather than native copper. Michigan's native copper industry was essentially dead, after producing 11 billion pounds (5.0 million metric tons) of copper. Several companies attempted to reopen copper mines during the next two decades, including attempts by
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#17327717793354898-413: The ore blasted out, hoisted to the surface, and sent to stamp mills located at a different site. Amygdaloid and conglomerate mining turned out to be much more productive and profitable than fissure mining, and the majority of highly successful mines were on amygdaloid or conglomerate lodes. The first mine to successfully mine a stratiform ore body was the Quincy Mine in 1856. The most productive deposit,
4977-590: The permit in May 1996, and White Pine installed a pilot in-situ leaching project. Native Americans of the Bad River Indian Reservation in northern Wisconsin blockaded rail shipments of sulfuric acid to the mine (see Bad River Train Blockade ); the mine began receiving acid shipments by truck. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which had previously held that it had no role in
5056-552: The permitting, reversed itself, and stated that White Pine would have to apply for a federal permit. White Pine, which had already started to recover copper from the pilot project, suspended solution mining in October 1996, and applied for to the EPA for the permit. In May 1997 the company withdrew the EPA permit application, saying that further permitting delays had made the project uneconomical, and announced plans to begin reclamation of
5135-530: The publicity of the Ontonagon Boulder back east, and a federal mineral land office at Copper Harbor kicked off the mine rush. The copper pits abandoned by Native Americans led early miners to most of the first successful mines. "All the principal ore deposits were thus known before 1900, and each was discovered in exposures at or close to grass roots." The Michigan State Geologist Douglass Houghton (later to become mayor of Detroit ) reported on
5214-611: The railroad tracks, runs the flat, paved Waterfront Trail for cyclists and pedestrians; at one end of this is the Houghton RV Park, at the other end the Nara Nature Park and midway along this corridor is Mattila Square . Prince's Point is also along this trail. Veterans Park is just across the Portage Lake Lift Bridge from Hancock, and contains the memorial to the Houghton Company, which fought in
5293-418: The rock in stamp mills and separated by gravity in "buddles" or "jigs." In the 1850s, mining began on stratiform native copper deposits in felsite -pebble conglomerates and in the upper zones of basalt lava flows (locally called amygdaloids ). Although amygdaloid and conglomerate deposits tended to be lower-grade than the fissure deposits, they were much larger, and could be mined much more efficiently, with
5372-679: The shale deposits uneconomical, although repeated attempts were made to mine the shale at the Nonesuch Mine . In 1955 the Copper Range Company began large-scale mining at the White Pine mine, near the old Nonesuch mine. The deposit is a stratiform deposit in the lower 15 m of the Proterozoic Nonesuch Shale and the upper 2 m of the underlying Copper Harbor Conglomerate. The principal ore mineral
5451-567: The south by Hurontown and Isle Royale Location, unincorporated communities that are part of Portage Township. Houghton is named after Douglass Houghton , discoverer of copper nearby. Houghton is also the home of Michigan Technological University . The city is served by Houghton County Memorial Airport in nearby Oneco. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 4.69 square miles (12.15 km ), of which 4.45 square miles (11.53 km )
5530-581: The south end in Ontonagon County (such as the Minesota Mine ). In Keweenaw County, the fissure lodes were nearly vertical mineralized zones with strike nearly perpendicular to that of the enclosing basalts and conglomerates. In Ontonagon County, by contrast, the fissures had strikes nearly parallel to, and dips slightly steeper than, the surrounding beds. The miners sometimes found masses of native copper up to hundreds of tons. To extract
5609-434: The streets of former mining towns. Some towns which existed primarily due to copper mining include Calumet , Houghton , Hancock , and Ontonagon . As the mines began to close, the Copper Country lost its major economic base. The population declined sharply as miners, shop owners, and others supported by the industry left the area, leaving many small ghost towns along the mineral range. Tourism, education, and logging are now
5688-449: The subject of humor, residents take the subject of snow and winter very seriously. Houghton is a Winter City —a community that accommodates winter, celebrates it, and whose residents generally enjoy the season by participating in a variety of outdoor activities. Among those activities are cross country skiing, snow-shoeing, ice fishing, snowmobiling, ice skating and outdoor ice hockey, among other activities. Houghton celebrates winter through
5767-427: The war brought an end to high prices, and nearly all companies closed, leaving only the Calumet and Hecla, Quincy, and Copper Range mining companies. Both Calumet and Hecla and Quincy survived largely by reprocessing the stamp sand left from older mining operations, leaching out copper left by more primitive processing techniques. By 1968 the formerly great Calumet and Hecla was purchased by Universal Oil and became
5846-490: The “Winter Carnival” organized by Michigan Tech every year in February. Houghton's summer climate tends to be especially pleasant, as hot temperatures are often moderated by the cool waters of nearby Lake Superior. The city's record high temperature of 102 °F (38.9 °C) was recorded July 7, 1988; this is the only day in the city's history with a temperature over 100 °F or 37.8 °C. Temperatures below 0 °F or −17.8 °C are also relatively infrequent due to
5925-562: Was chalcocite , although native copper predominated in the lower part of the beds. The mine was very successful, producing more than 1.8 million metric tons (4.0 billion pounds) of copper during its life. The White Pine mine, the last major copper mine in Michigan, shut down in 1995. The company applied to government agencies to continue mining by in-situ leaching , using sulfuric acid to recover an additional 900 million pounds (410,000 metric tons) of copper by SX-EW . The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality approved
6004-565: Was applied at the Winter Carnival temporary station in Michigan Technological University's Memorial Union Building, February 10, 2007. The city is located on the south shore of the Keweenaw Waterway , on rolling wooded hills, less than a mile across Portage Lake from Hancock . The city is bounded on the east by Portage Township and Pilgrim, on the west by Dakota Heights and Adams Township , and on
6083-472: Was discontinued in the Keweenaw, the lower deck is used to accommodate snowmobile traffic in the winter. The bridge provides the only link between the north and south sections of the Keweenaw peninsula. Houghton has a humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfb ) but the (typically) long and snowy (due to lake-effect snow, with an average of 218 inches or 5.54 metres) winters make the city feel as though it
6162-402: Was formerly served by airship. A seaplane departs from Houghton to Isle Royale National Park. Snowmobiling is a major winter activity in the area, both locally (snowmobiles are often the best available means of transportation after a blizzard) and as a tourist industry. The Bill Nichols Snowmobile Trail has a terminus in Houghton. Houghton is generally said to be divided into East Houghton,
6241-473: Was the dominant ore mineral, chalcocite (copper sulfide) was sometimes present, and, especially in the Mohawk mine, copper arsenide minerals such as mohawkite and domeykite . Gangue minerals included calcite , quartz , epidote , chlorite , and various zeolites . A number of copper mines also contained a notable amount of silver , both in native form and naturally alloyed with the copper. Halfbreed
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