Comments on: The Cliff Churches

By: explorer

explorer — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 13:00:25 +0000

Well obviously I’ll have to do some more digging and try to get a better handle on the town’s layout. We’ll have to revisit this in the future…

By: Dave Freeze

Dave Freeze — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 01:07:35 +0000

I do not think the two buildings you indicate as the churches are the churches. There a several reasons for this conclusion. First both churches were gone from the Cliff area by 1906. Also the picture in the Tech archives showing the KC train in front of the churches was shot looking directly southeast from the Hillside cemetery. Also both buildings are farther southeast beyond the KC right of way.

By: Gordy Schmitt

Gordy Schmitt — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 01:04:55 +0000

Gosh this is so fun, wish I had a tech archive in my computer.
I did some looking today on this topic. One of the last as usual, I had a link to Copper Country Reflections page here:
http://www.pasty.com/reflections/id316.htm
Strangely enough, he has a photo, 5th one from the bottom, in the description, he has the Methodist Church with the steeple on the right and on the left the Episcopal Church. From the looks of it, its nowhere near the main road.
Almost looks like the Methodist Church should be moved over to the south? side of the next street.
Also a small blurb in a book called Inventory of the Church Archives, they listed Cliff Mine, also called Clifton. I think it was one and the same. The Catholic Church was listed as in Clifton, St Marys Church.
Also found a Journal of the Proceedings of the Annual Convention of xxxx year of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 1868. (Grace Church) of Cliff Mine was very poor and location was almost depopulated.

By: Jay Balliet

Jay Balliet — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:33:24 +0000

Herb,
Right behind the poor rock pile is a trail that leads to the Hillside cemetary and mine ruins.

By: Herb from Wisconsin

Herb from Wisconsin — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:45:50 +0000

Interesting thread. Old churches have a coolness all of their own so do old cemeteries. I had no clue there was a 2nd cemetery at Cliff location for Catholics. And I still need to find the Hillside, altho now from the aerial photo I see where it is.

By: explorer

explorer — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:07:13 +0000

Dave… I hot-linked all the photos to their corresponding listing in the archives. As for the topo, its that 1929 version from the USGS paper 144 you sent me.

Jay… South Cliff is more or less just an extension of the Cliff Mine, the two were connected via an underground drift (which runs right under Cliff Drive no less). I believe S. Cliff had two shafts, both vertical. As for Cliff Location, many of the old foundations can still be seen along the road there – there just a little overgrown.

The town shown on my map is marked “Cliff” on the that 1929 Topo, which would technically make the town Cliff Location. “Cliffton” must of been up the road a tad bit, sitting near the corner of US41 and Cliff Drive. A lot of these old photos seem to show another collection of houses up there. The two are used interchangeably a lot but I believe they might of technically been two separate towns.

As for a series on Calumet Churches, I’ve already been doing some of that for the new site. Some of that work will probably spill over to here in the future.

By: Dave Freeze

Dave Freeze — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:58:59 +0000

The number of churches in some of the towns in the Copper Country is amazing. When the mining was at its peak each nationality had its own church. Take a look at pictures of Calumet. In some pictures you can see two or three steeples. Sounds like a job the Copper Country explorer.

By: Jay Wrix

Jay Wrix — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:58:44 +0000

Amazing, and intriquing, I never realized how many churches where around…

I never thought cliffton was over there,
I kinda figured it was in deep woods or something.

Anything left of it? and whats at south cliff mine?

By: Dave Freeze

Dave Freeze — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:34:47 +0000

What is your source the topo maps you are using?

By: Dave Freeze

Dave Freeze — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 04:16:32 +0000

I think the term Protestant was used to mean any church that was not Catholic. At the time the Cliff and other mines were in operation, from the 1840’s to the 1900’s, the Catholics and Protestants would not think of marrying someone outside of their own religion.

Could you give me a link to the photo, the fifth one down in your post, that show the view from the ridge?

Also the picture I referred to in my earlier posting was shot from the Hillside cemetery looking toward the southeast.