Tecumseh road is one of those old and forgotten roads in the Keweenaw. Once, in its youth, the road served an important role in taking travelers between the shafts of the Osceola, out to the town of Tecumseh, and further south to the port cities of Hancock and Houghton. Since the copper mines closed, the town of Tecumseh rotted away, and US41 now more easily and quickly moved people down Houghton and Hancock – the road became a antiquated museum piece destined to rot away as all old Keweenaw roads eventually do.

As we looked down the dusty path at this point in time, it was clear that Tecumseh road was quickly meeting its fate. Here the rail-line moved further south, making a turn to the southwest a few hundred yards distant. Down the road to the southwest, a small creek meandered through a covert and out into the marshland behind us. To the east, poking up above the tree line, Osceola #13 continued it vigil. And just ahead of us – so close we almost missed it – we could see the rust red of bricks in the brush. Ruins!

We were sure it must have been some sort of building, but it didn’t look like one. A waist high wall partially surrounded a brick footprint in the shape of the letter “H”. Sticking up in various points on this H were threaded metal rods. Some of the rods were cut off sharply, evidently victims of the scrap metal vultures the must have swooped in after the mines closed. We were sure it once supported a piece of machinery, perhaps a hoist engine or other large piece of equipment. It was in line with the #4 poor rock pile, so it could the old engine house. But its position right next to the road (no more then 5 feet away) made that seem questionable. We would have pondered the question more, however the red brick was crumbling away under our feet. We moved on down the road…