Comments on: A Phantom Stack

By: explorer

explorer — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:03:51 +0000

Brian…

That stack has been a thorn i my side for years. Every time I went off to find it I got no where. Frustrating to say the least. You were able to find the shaft way before me as well, so he obviously had a little more luck (or skill perhaps)

By: Gordy

Gordy — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:13:07 +0000

Jim, the fence there is around Boston Pond, they are trying to keep vehicles from getting out onto the grass they planted to “beautify and keep that nasty stamp sand” from fouling the pristine water of Boston Pond.

I believe the railroad grade Mike is talking about would be the one through the trees and brush that used to serve the mine itself, not the one that the snowmobiles use. From what I saw of that grade, you almost need a brush cutter to follow.

By: Gordy

Gordy — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:09:24 +0000

Unless Franklin Junior reopened sometime after 1920, the stack would have been built for nothing. From what I can find, Franklin stopped mining in June 1920 and let the mine fill with water starting in Dec.
I found mention of new hoisting equipment in use at No 1 shaft in 1913

Also I thought it interesting that the shafthouse they used for the final years was the No 1 shafthouse on the Pewabic lode and most of the rock came out of the Allouez lode. Mention is made of reopening the #2 Allouez shaft hopefully in 1916, but whether it did I can’t find anything.

I would venture to guess those two photos of Franklin Junior in the Michigan Tech archives are of the No 1 shaft on the Pewabic lode since the houses are so close in the background of the on photo.

By: Chicaugon Lake Jim

Chicaugon Lake Jim — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:59:09 +0000

Hi Mike, I’ve tried to get to this smoke stack too in the past. You refer to a rail line in your third paragraph. Is this the rail line (now a rec trail) that is accessible from the parking area at the public access site at Boston Pond? I tried to get back to the smokestack from there last year. Never made it. If I remember right there was some cyclone fencing off the trail too?

PS – (3 months and counting before I get up there to open up my cottage!)

By: Brian Wereley

Brian Wereley — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:24:15 +0000

This is the one I saw from the #2 awhile ago. I had kinda been able to figure its location on a topo map that has ‘stacks labeled on it. Never made it there though as I experienced similar issues, once you start getting closer you can lose things you spotted from a distance.