While mines flourished and cities bloomed along the Keweenaw from Houghton to Copper Harbor, the great mineral lands to the south were relatively ignored. It wouldn’t be till near the end of the nineteenth century that any serious attempts at tapping the southern range’s copper riches would be undertaken, accelerated by the completion of the Copper Range railroad in 1900. Before then the region was simply a vast wilderness, its copper reputation spoiled by one of the Keweenaw’s most abysmal failures – the Wheal Kate Mine.
Rising high above the southern range is one of the tallest peaks along the peninsula – 1500 foot Wheal Kate mountain. Its ominous presence just south of the Portage Valley prompted many to ponder if it was made from solid copper – copper which resisted the great glaciers that had carved out the valley and the lake basin beyond. On this hunch alone, optimistic prospectors bought up the mountain and began sinking shafts into it to find it’s juicy copper center. In the process the mine company platted out the nearby town of South Range. The mine quickly failed but the town somehow managed to survive.
It wasn’t until the arrival of the Copper Range almost a generation later that the town finally thrived. With the railroad running right through the center of town and the presence of several mines in the vicinity (including the Baltic right next door), South Range’s commercial district exploded. Its good fortune lasted as long as the mines that supported it, which finally came to an end in the 1960′s with the closure of the last operating mine along the South Range – the Champion. When the mine closed, the railroad was torn up and abandoned.
Today this is all that’s left of the Copper Range Depot that once graced the South Range downtown. With the wood building itself long since torn down, only the concrete platform can give the old rail corridor company. The old grade is presently used as a snowmobile trail.
Standing across from the old depot is the crown jewel of the South Range of today. This sandstone beauty is the Kaleva Temple, built with an unique angled store entrance to face the oncoming trains. The building was begun in 1907, but the original builder ran out of money and couldn’t complete the structure. A few years later the Knights of Kaleva – a Finnish Fraternal Society – bought the building and completed it in 1910.
Here’s a closer look at the pediment over the buildings central stairway. This building housed the Post Office as well as small 200 seat theater. More recently it has housed an antique store (go figure) and a pet store.
On the other side of the street from the Kaleva Temple is another sandstone beauty, though this one only has a sandstone facade (the rest of the building is brick). This is the current town hall and fire department. It sports a most interesting second floor entrance which is somewhat odd since the building doesn’t sit on a hill or anything.
The building’s pediment betrays the buildings origins as a Depression era government works project. The CWA refers to the Civil Works Administration, which was a short lived forbearer to the WPA. The building was completed in 1934 as a community hall, which would have been at the end of the CWA’s life.
Making a circular sweep back to the other side of the road we come to the current Copper Range Historical Museum. This stately building use to be home to the South Range State Bank. This brick building with ornate sandstone embellishments has been well taken care of recently and looks almost new. Here is what appears to be the original alarm box still attached to the side of the building.
Another shot showing the unique second floor transom-sized windows and the dentil cornice.
Crossing the street back towers the Kaleva, we notice another ruined building behind it that sports some interesting old signs. This one is for Mission Orange, which was first sold in 1933 by the Mission Dry Corporation out of Los Angeles.
And then there’s one for good-ol Vernors as well. Favorite of sick children everywhere.
Along a road one block back from the main drag we found a couple more old buildings – which included this interesting specimen. The large central opening would seem to suggest a fire hall or other municipal building. I thought perhaps that this was the first town hall before the current hall was built in the 30′s, but the odd stone block construction would seem to suggest this building is more modern then that. Perhaps someone out there has a clue…
And one last thing before signing off…. the beauty of sandstone….
“Juicy copper center” — melts in your smelter, not in your mine!
Wheal Kate bluff has an *amazing* view. It’s also a royal pain to climb (at least on the “straight up” side — there are also back ways for the wimps
). I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a good view.
I second that. Taking the old hill climb track up to the top of Whealkate is not advised for those non olympic gold medal winners among us. I’ve climbed a lot of rock piles and mountains here in the Keweenaw and this one was the worst by far. (It is the second tallest peak in the Keweenaw I believe, behind Mt. Horace Greeley) Even my friend – who’s in much better shape then me – had a difficult time climbing it.
The view is, however, one of the best.
I also applaud the “juicy copper center” phrase. With the bronze colored leafy trees and winter settling around the mines, you can easily see how copper men gazing on Wheal Kate could start dreaming and dream some more as to what lay inside that baby….
I’m thinking there was a very early “mine” exploration on Wheal Kate long before South Range was platted. A real early attempt and how miners wintered there. Maybe I can find it. I’m digging thru my copper materials anyway.
For some reason these legend haunted knobs intrigue me greatly. Like the Albion Roc, Wheal Kate mountain seems very cool too.
I agree, I think (from my hazy recollection) that South Range was platted around the same time that the Copper Range was run through town, which was long after the Wheal Kate mine came and went. I believe that South Range was going to be called “Stanton” (after an important character in the Copper Range) but there was already a town by that name in Michigan.
Ok guys, heres the deal on the South Range / Whealkate connection. First of all, I’ll admit that my first source was a little weak (try Wikipedia weak), but then I found this piece that seemed to back it up, from a statement Bart Stupak gave to the House of Representatives to acknowledge South Range’s centennial:
“Another memorable event in 1903 was the founding of the Town of South Range by the Whealkate Mining Compnay, at the south end of the copper Range of the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula”
Of course these are both secondary sources, so I did some more digging after Dave’s comment, and I found a few more bits of info. First in the 1903 edition of the Copper Handbook, the entry for the Wheal Kate Mining Company says the following:
“Organized November 1902…with capitalization of $50,000. Lands, 240 acres, including Whealkate Mine, but is primarily a townsite company. The “mine” which adjoins the Atlantic was “opened” in 1851, and is possibly the best example extant of how not to do it.” (I love the sarcastic “air quotes” – especially since this was written more then a century ago)
Interesting here is the incorporation date of 1902 – which is a year before South Range was first established. Also interesting is the phrase “primarily a townsite company” which I assume is referring to South Range itself.
The 1920 edition of the book adds a few more clarifying details:
“240 acres in and adjoining the village of South Range Mich. Company only conducts a real estate business. Part of its mineral rights sold to the South Range Copper Co.”
This basically states the the Whealkate Mining Company – by at least 1920 – had become a holding company only. It had sold off its mineral rights to another mine and had concentrated on selling off land parcels. This entry also refers to South Range directly, stating that the company owned lands “in and adjoining” the village. I believe this means that the lands South Range sat on were owned by the Whealkate Mining Company, and that it was that company that platted the town and sold off parcels.
Stupak’s speech also goes on to provided some insight to South Range’s unique upbringing:
“Once the Town of South Range was platted, it became possible for hardworking miners and local people to buy the lots and begin to build a community separate from the mining companies that most of them worked for.”
South Range stood along in the southern range as the only town not controlled by Copper Range, which couldn’t be said for Freda, Redridge, Beacon Hill, Painesdale, Trimountain, Baltic and even Atlantic Mine. A sanctuary city in a corporate controlled region. This would also explain the development of South Range’s vibrant downtown (well back in the day at least). Such businesses – especially taverns – would probably never of been tolerated by the Copper Range company.
As far as naming it Stanton, this story is probably true. Stanton and the Copper Range company did own everything else in the region, and was responsible for everyone’s livelihood. I believe this was proposed during the town’s bid for incorporation in 1906, several years after its founding. It was denied because such a town already existed in Michigan.
For those interesting, Bart Stupaks comments can be read HERE. (PDF file)
ahaha, yeah i remember being fed de-fizzed Vernor’s as a stomach-flu-ridden young boy…it did NOT help, as i recall, haha
that is an awesome sign however…there is an identical one at Foran’s Bar in downtown Detroit (which is housed in the old Grand Trunk office, which sat across from where the original Vernor’s bottling plant used to be)
Ah yes that reliable source called Wikipedia, you should read about C&H, it mentions the C&H number 17 shaft being reopened a couple of years ago, they were going to do exploratory work there, while in reality they were replacing the cap. Also one other mine was mentioned as being reopened due to the high price of copper.
Gordy… where does the C&H page say that? I usually watch Copper Country related pages for silliness of that type, but I can’t find any references to the #17 or such.
Well maybe someone finally removed it, being its Wikipedia. I tried to find it again, after reading that I pretty much didn’t bother looking at Wikipedia again. I did find this little blurb under Calumet. I haven’t seen or heard any mention of dewatering anything, so where that comes from I have no clue. I get the Mining Gazette at home here in beautiful Illinois, (cough cough about the beautiful part).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calumet,_Michigan
Look in the geography section
Ah, I looked at the Calumet and Hecla article, not the Calumet city article. That was full of silliness, but now it’s been corrected.
I corrected the origional dewatering bit on 17 Shaft, and repleaced it with the capping line… I found it funny since I was one of the guys that capped it. We did have a few people come up and ask us when we were going to be hiring though, as they were convinced we were re-opening the shaft. But then again we also had people ask where they could apply for a job at the gas station we were building…
I think the moral of Joe’s story is that there are a lot of people looking for work in Calumet…
quote: “Another memorable event in 1903 was the founding of the Town of South Range by the Whealkate Mining Compnay, at the south end of the copper Range of the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.”
What I’m hazily remembering is something way earlier than this, back in the early 1840s, something to do with miners wintering at Wheal Kate at a very early date. Altho I haven’t found it yet.
I believe what you’re thinking of is the original Wheal Kate Mine, which did open around 1851. I think that the same company responsible for that debacle ended up holding their lands for the next half century before moving on to real estate. But thats a guess. It could very well be a second company using the same name just bought up the lands and then started platting off the town.
Mike,
Yeah kinda, I digressed a bit but the original wiki article had a bit about dewatering the mines and the hope for jobs. I didn’t draw a clear connection there, in my early morning haziness (excuses, excuses I tell ya!).
Yes, it was the earlier Whealkate Company I was thinking of. This is from a fine 1901 article by Graham Pope, “Some Early Mining Days at Portage Lake,” (Proceedings: L.S.M.I.) p. 19:
“….a party of 4 men camped during the winter of 1846-7 near Whealkate mountain….In the autum of 1851, Walter W. Palmer, beginning at a point about two miles west of where Houghton village is now, cut a road four miles long through the forest to Whealkate mountain, and on the S.E. 1/4 of Sec. 17, Township 54, Range 34, established the Whealkate Mining company, the stockholders being New York people who had been interested in the Albion mine in what is now Keweeenaw county. Mr. Palmer’s first work was sinking a sand shaft which he was forced to abandon because of the abundance of water. He afterwards sunk a shaft in the rock and hoped by drifting to strike a fissure vein.”
That last sentence about “hope” makes it sound like the myth of Whealkate’s juicy copper center was already current in 1851 and why not? No doubt the name was bestowed upon the mound at that time and it stuck. Also interesting is that the Whealkate people had formerly been with the Albion Mine at the famous Albion Rock property. I’ve seen Walter W. Palmer’s name before. He must have been an early live wire on the Keweenaw copper range.
From my distant recollection, Kate was indeed the wife of one of the investors, and Wheal referred to mine (a Cornish term?). So Whealkate is basically Kate’s mine. They probably got a few extra dollars out of that guy!
The “Kate” is in honor of Ms. Kate Walback, wife of Dr. S.S. Walback who was an associate of Palmer’s. “Wheal” is indeed the Cornish word for Mine. According to the Copper Handbook that early attempt at Whealkate Herb mentions went something like this:
“A second shaft was sunk in the trap rock for forty feet. From that shaft a drift was sent south for twenty feet. Then an incline shaft was sunk fifty feet. From the bottom of this shaft, a cross cut was sent one hundred feet to a supposed copper lode. A final drift was sent south for another fifty feet. In this location a winze was sunk 540 feet. ”
By the looks of things, Mr. Palmer might of been the worst copper miner ever.
I’m thinking the Wheal Kate “mine” looks something like the “tubes” screensaver that you used to see on Windows computers.
Where is wheal kate?
Wheal Kate is the big mountain that rises up over South Range, you can see it from Quincy Hill. (Its the tallest point south of Mt. Horace Greeley) There’s a large stripe running down its middle, which is why I use to call it Skunk Mountain. It was once home to snowmobile hill climbs.
The 1901 Pope article also mentions that at Palmer’s early operation at Wheal Kate the mine rock had to be “filled and dumped” four times and “wheeled” twice, indeed, making him the worst miner on record!
No doubt they were attempting to follow the “vein” until they found the juicy solid copper center…
I wondered about the name too and that stuff explains it. Walbank and Palmer were both in correspondence in the 1850s with a copper miner at the head of Lake Superior and I’ve seen copies of those early letters.
Dcclark….. Dig Dug! I can see Mr. Palmer running around pumping up bad guys with his air pump or letting big copper nuggets dropping down on them!
Herb… It sounds like Palmer and Hulbert from C&H should start a “bad miners” club
Hi Mike, South Range is a favorite area of mine to explore. I was wondering if you or someone knew the answer to this. There is a street in town called Wheal Kate Road. It is on the side of town near the school. I followed that road out of town to where it turns into a dirt road. A little farther in I came to a huge area that is completely fenced in by cyclone fencing. I walked around the perimeter of the fencing as far as I could get. Inside the fencing is very over grown. I do not think this was an actual mine shaft, there was no sign of ruins or any poor rock piles. Do you know where I am talking about? And do you know why someone went to such great expense to put up a huge area of cyclone fencing here? I was just wondering if maybe this was a cave in sight where there might be some mine workings below? (an old drift?)
Also adjacent to this area (about 500 to 1000 yards) is an old abandoned farmstead. The farm house is still standing, but the barns are down to the ground. There are also some smaller out buildings including an acient sauna. My guess is that this was an old Finnish farmstead. (where there’s a sauna, there’s a Finn nearby!) Anyways, what was really a cool find was behind the farm. There was a small rise or ridge that ran behind the property. When I got to the ridge I was amazed to find another dwelling structure. What was so cool was this ancient dwelling was mostly dug into the side of the ridge, like a badger hole, with the front facade made of wood entry way. It was still pretty much intact. When you look inside you can still see where the bunk bed was, the fireplace area, shelving on the walls etc. I guess this structure had to be built before WWII. It really gave me the woolies to think about someone living there, especially in the winter time. But I guess it would be pretty cozy inside with a fire going and being built into the side of the ridge. Like an ancient earth home.
After that I climbed up on top of the ridge and found parked up there a bunch of old farm implement machines rusting away. There was an old threshing machine and an ancient hay bailer, and several others that I had no idea what they were. (no Allis Chalmers tractors though darnit). Just wondering if you ever came across this area in your journeys?
Jim…
I know exactly the place you’re takling about it and have been there myself. The house built into the hill is interesting, though I imagine it was once used to store food. The bunk was probably a more recent addition. I didn’t have the nerve to enter because I was worried the thing might collapse on me. Also remember the farm equipment. Unfortunately it was one of the few excursions that I didn’t have my camera with me…
As for the fence, it intrigued me as well. It turns out it belongs to the Mountain View Cemetery, and marks off the graveyards’ property. The razor wire atop seems like a bit much, but I would assume it was put up to keep snowmobilers and 4-wheelers off the property. The adjacent land (including Whealkate Mt.) was once owned by a off-road company of some type. They did a lot of races and hill climbs in the area. The fence was probably built for their benefit.