If you follow one of the trails near the visitors center, you find yourself hiking up the steep bluff above the town to a simple sign in the woods. Although there isn’t much left to show for it, here once stood the old Central School. Like all mine locations, skilled miners brought their wives and children along into the wilderness. Schools like this one were constructed at mine sites to help prepare these children for the world. In the Copper Country, however, these schools were more of a tool in Americanizing the immigrant children and preparing them for work in the mine themselves.

Central Mine built a grand three story structure here, built from wood, stone, and brick. Sitting high up on a bluff overlooking the town, the school must have appeared very stately and imposing in its day. The views from the classrooms were sure to be a constant distraction to the students, looking out over the mine site and the valley below. Walking up the steep cliff in all types of weather, however, must have evoked another feeling altogether. I wonder if the walk was worth the view.

The school closed along with the mine, around 1894. For decades more it stood up on this bluff looking down on passing travelers along the highway. At some point it was either torn down, burnt down, or fell down on its own. But by the amount of remains still around, I’d say it was torn down and hauled away for lumber. The only thing still scattered about the site were a good amount of bricks, and only a few pieces of wood and stone.

This line of bricks seem to be remnants of a walkway or stoop, forming too regular of a pattern on the forest floor to have fallen there. Their upper surfaces were covered by a moss blanket, but underside they were as clean as the day they were laid.

We also found pieces of glass, like this one, which might have once been part of the buildings more then 40 windows.

The only foundation remans we found were a series of stone footings, like this one. These were laid out in a rectangular shape, spaced equally apart about six feet or so. Most likely the wooden frame of the school was anchored to these rock bases. Apparently the school had no basement, probably due to its location on a rocky bluff. Digging one would have been an issue.

The largest piece of the old school we were able to find was this large corner footing. Built from stone it stood a couple of feet high, and was about two feet square. All the other footings were cut off a few inches above the ground, and this one was the only one of any substance. You can take a closer look below:

to be continued…