The numerous and scattered mining locations found all across the Keweenaw created a rather large and sprawling metropolitan area with people and services spread far and wide. Such a condition was the perfect arrangement for the establishment of an interurban railway, an expanded trolley service that ran between various Copper Country communities. This interurban was first formed in 1900 as the Houghton County Street Railway Company, consisting of a single line running between Houghton and Boston – a small mining community half-way between Hancock and Calumet. By 1901 the line would make its way all the way to Calumet, a 16 mile route that would allow residents of the burgeoning mining town to quickly and easily make their way to the county seat.

By 1908 the interurban line had been extended to over 32 miles, joining not only Calumet and Houghton but also such far flanged communities as Mohawk, Hubbell, and Wolverine. At this time the company would change its name to the Houghton County Traction Company, and would became so popular as to require the running of up to 30 cars a day to serve its impressive 75,000 yearly rider count. At its height the railway rans cars every half hour between 6 in the morning and midnight.

While popular, the interurban lined would be hit had by the Depression. As mines closed and jobs left, so too did the line’s riders. With fewer and fewer people utilizing the line, its operating costs quickly out stopped its diminished rider fairs, and the line would be closed down and its tracks abandoned by 1932.

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