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LAKE LINDEN
POINTS
OF
INTEREST
Lindell Chocolate Shoppe. A gem of a classic 1920s sweet shop, the interior all aglow with stained glass and golden oak. Currently closed, for sale. ...
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St. Joseph Church
Lake Linden's French-Canadian community was already 50 years old, with some very prosperous members, in 1910 when it was building this beautiful, twin-towered church, its fourth church building. It's a remarkable church in many ways —for its size and prominence in the townscape, akin to a European church's; for its nearly intact pre-Vatican II interior replete with heavenly scenes with clouds, and a row or two or decorative electric lights; for its windows depicting key scenes from the life of Christ and some saints, including Joan of Arc; and for its outstanding music.
The large Cassavant organ was expanded by noted Michigan organ builder James Lauk. Organist and music director David Short has successfully developed competent congregational singing, not mumbling, and the Mass is actually sung! It's all a treat for Catholics who look back fondly on the church in the 1950s. (The homilies, it should be said, are quite up-to-date.)
The church has two facades. The east façade was designed to face the lake. (That part of the lake is now the high school football field.) In 1910, the fledgling Michigan Highway Department changed the highway route to its present location, to eliminate some twists. So the church built another, even more impressive facade on the west.
St. Joseph is one of those Michigan parishes that are the historic hearts of ethnic communities now widely dispersed. Thus it was possible to raise some half a million dollars for the church's and organ's recent renovations.
701 Calumet/M-26. (906) 296-4191. Visitors welcome weekdays after Mass until about 2:45. Sunday Mass 8 and 10 a.m. Weekday Mass at 7 a.m. in summer, 8 a.m. otherwise. Wheelchair-accessible.
Houghton County Historical Museum. Lots of interesting old stuff here, from miining relics to old snowmobiles ...
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Region: Keweenaw Peninsula
LAKE LINDEN
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First settled: 1851
Population: 1,081
Lake Linden and Hubbell, its unincorporated neighboring community on M-26, profited from their locations on the shores of narrow Torch Lake. It connected to the Keweenaw Waterway via a natural channel at Dollar Bay. Large vessels could travel all the way to local docks. Lumber was sawn and shipped from Lake Linden. Torch Lake got its name from Indians who fished at night with torches and spears. The lake connects with the Keweenaw Waterway (sometimes called Portage Lake) and Lake Superior. That's why six different businesses in town are called "Lakes."
By the late 1880s the big white pines were gone. (Many were used as underground support for nearby copper mines.) Finns were turning the area's cutover land into farms. Meanwhile, Lake Linden and Hubbell were becoming the sites of Calumet & Hecla's copper stamping mill and smelter.
 | | Impressive as the exterior of St. Joesph's Catholic Church is, the interior is stunning. Built by a largely French congregation, it is often open and well worth a visit. | Lake Linden was largely settled by French-Canadians who worked in the woods (a preferred occupation for them), in lumber mills, and later in the surface copper-stamping mills and smelters along its waterfront. Today it remains a French town. Here and elsewhere, at least in the Midwest, French names are seldom pronounced the French way. "Gervais," for instance, is not "GURR-vay" but "JAR-viss." "Gregory" is the locally correct pronunciation for the name of Joseph Gregoire, who came to the area as a young man in the 1850s, worked as a woodcutter, helped start a sawmill, and eventually came to own 65,000 acres of timberland.
By the 19th century, Quebec's large and fertile French-Canadian population of habitants (independent peasant farmers) had grown to exceed the capacity of their farms and villages to support them. The struggling Canadian economy offered them few opportunities.
French-Canadian clerics and lawyers were the decision-makers in that stratified society. They grappled with the issue of relocation: what new places were most promising for continuing their community, language, faith, and culture. Many leaders felt that new lands to the west — like Lake Linden's woods — offered better prospects for French-Canadian group survival than settling in the industrializing mill towns of nearby Maine and Massachusetts.
Outside New England, Michigan had the largest migration of French-Canadians in the U.S. This is discussed on Detroit genealogist John DuLong's extensive web page on "Tracing French Canadians in Michigan's Copper Country" on habitant.org/houghton/fcgenealogy. (Search elsewhere for his genealogy of none other than Madonna, back to the 16th century. Her mother was one of eastern Michigan's many French Canadians.)
Calumet & Hecla's great innovation was to develop a process that efficiently extracted small amounts of copper deposits carried by much of the area's rock. A key to the process was a stamping mill to crush the rock brought up from the mines. C&H's first stamping mill, built in 1866, crushed rock transported by narrow-gauge railway from the company's Calumet-area mines down the steep hill to Lake Linden/Hubbell. A smelter then extracted copper from the crushed rock. By 1873 an astounding 10,000 tons a year of ingot copper was shipped from here.
The later stamping mill and smelter were among the world's largest. They finally closed during the 1968 strike that brought an end to area copper mining.
Most workers who live in Lake Linden now commute to jobs elsewhere. It is home to one of the Upper Peninsula's more unusual businesses: Nitrate Elimination Co. Inc. (906-296-1000) at 217 Calumet Street/M-26. Founded by a Michigan Tech professor and his wife, the biotech company has garnered substantial federal research grants for developing enzyme-based products for water testing and treatment. It also sells a home nitrate testing kit. (—February, 20080
Back to Keweenaw Peninsula
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LAKE LINDEN
RESTAURANTS,
LODGINGS
& CAMPGROUNDS
These are our choices, not ads.
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LAKE LINDEN
RESTAURANTS
See also: Dollar Bay, Laurium, Calumet, Hancock, Houghton.
LINDELL CHOCOLATE SHOPPE
(906) 296-0793
A 1922 Greek sweet shop in all its original glory. Lindell's retains its fine quarter-sawn oak wainscoting and booths with little lamps; its tile floor in gold, white, and turquoise; mirrored back bar; fretwork; and stained and leaded glass in a stylish Arts & Crafts pattern. The ensemble cost $3,700 in 1922. Today the Lindell isn't just a visitor attraction but a popular hometown spot, where regulars meet for coffee and breakfasts like two eggs, sausage, from-scratch hash browns, and toast. “Much better than average diner fare,” proclaimed an Ann Arbor visitor who especially enjoyed her onion rings and sugary-crusted pie. Changing daily specials and Friday evening fish fry. Rice pudding and ice cream (chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla) are made on the premises.
In 2005 history-lover Dick Taylor, a Lake Linden resident and owner of RailDreams model railroad fabricator, purchased Lindell's with an eye to preserving and revitalizing it. He stripped wallpaper and restored the original paint scheme in rose and burgundy. Longtime cook Candy Schmitt manages Lindell's. So far, wireless internet has been installed for patrons. The menu has been expanded beyond diner classics to include homemade desserts and cinnamon rolls, Greek favorites such as spinach pie, gyros, lemon-rice soup, and lamb chops, and Near Eastern sides like tabooli - a little bit of Detroit come to Copper Country. Homemade ice cream can be customized; the Cornish Cousins can get saffron ice cream made for their 2007 national convention in Calumet. Chocolates again available, may be made on the premises. Lindell's already had a liquor license - a real plus for future possibilities. Plans call for renovating the adjacent storefront space as Lindell After Dark, with a dance floor, sound system, projection screen for computer presentations, and more. Lindell's now takes credit cards and out-of-town checks.
300 Calumet/M-26 in downtown Lake Linden. Mon-Thurs 6 a.m.-8 p.m., Fri & Sat 6 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Handicap access: one step. Family-friendly. Kids' menu. Full bar.
LAKES DAIRYLAND
(906) 296-0414
Stopping at is a regular summer ritual for Jilbert's ice cream lovers (there's even fried ice cream). But Lakes also has a full menu including breakfasts, four homemade soups, lots of sandwiches, meal-size salads, and good daily specials served in the dining area, with lots of booths. Lake Linden's schools are just down the street. This small-town gathering spot attracts just about every age group in town. Lots of fried appetizers are on the menu (onion rings, chicken nuggets, etc.) but there are always low-fat options like buffalo burgers, baked potatoes, and veggie and turkey sandwiches from turkey roasted here. Turkey dinner served Sundays from noon until there[s no more left; No credit cards. Out-of-town checks OK.
On M-26/Calumet Ave. at the north end of downtown Lake Linden. Open from April 1 into early December, daily 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wheelchair-accessible.
DREAMLAND RESTAURANT and BAR
(906) 296-3191
The utterly plain exterior of this old resort hotel might lead you to think it's just a bar. Actually, on winter weekends and every day in summer the kitchen turns out a full menu of steaks, delicious broiled shrimp dishes, fresh fish when available, salads, and more. Even the bar menu, served until closing time, offers better eating than many bars: pizza made on the premises, fresh burgers, fried chicken and shrimp, steak and chicken sandwiches, and homemade soups. Year-round there's fish on Friday, either deep-fried or broiled—half a pound for $8.95 including potato and salad. Regular dinner entrées are mostly around $9 to $13. Big variety of sandwiches range from $5-$8. The side dining room is smoke-free.
&nbsdp&nbsdp&nbsdp&nbsdp;Steamers used to take holidaymakers from Houghton and Hancock to the Dreamland Hotel, the park, and dance pavilion here. Patrons can still arrive by boat and walk from the dock to up to the place. Norbert Sarazin, one of the original loggers of 19th-century Lake Linden and a major area landowner, started the resort and hotel in 1913. It's still in the family. Jim and Gladys Sarazin have owned it since the late 1940s; Tod and Laurie run it today. The vintage interior is from the early 1950s.
Eight miles south of Lake Linden on Bootjack Road. Follow the east shore of Torch Lake until you reach the hotel. Bar and bar menu available year-round at least Mon-Sat from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sun noon to 10 p.m., later if there are customers. Full menu served at least on weekends year-round. From mid-May through miid-November, full menu is served daily from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m., until 11 Fri & Sat. Family-friendly especially before 8 p.m. or so. Wheelchair accessible. Rest rooms are tight. Full bar.
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LAKE LINDEN
LODGINGS
See also: Laurium, Calumet, Hancock, Houghton
LeBLANC MOTEL
(906) 296-0105
This 12-unit motel may interest boaters and anglers. It's way off the beaten path in Bootjack, a quiet rural area 3 1/2 miles south of Lake Linden, on the shore road toward Dreamland (where the old hotel serves good food) and Jacobsville. Rice Lake and Mud Lake, both known for fishing, are within four miles; Keweenaw Bay is just beyond them, with a boat launch on Grand Traverse Bay at the end of Rice Lake Road. An excellent swimming beach is 15 minutes away at Jacobsville. Rooms are good-size and nicely coordinated. None are smoke-free. All have coffeemakers and cable TV with ESPN. Rates in 2000 for 2: $31 (1 double bed), $36 (1 queen with kitchenette). Snowmobilers welcome.
On Bootjack Road. From M-26 in Lake Linden, turn at the north end of town, toward Gay, but stay along Torch Lake - that's Bootjack Road -for 3 1/2 miles. Handicap access: call. Family-friendly but no onsite open area.
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LAKE LINDEN
CAMPGROUNDS
LAKE LINDEN VILLAGE RECREATION AREA
(906) 296-9911
Part of a town park with volleyball, basketball, tennis, an elaborate playground, a picnic shelter, and a roller rink, this 21-site modern campground offers some advantages for those not in search of a quiet, remote, natural setting. There's a swimming beach, boat launch, dump station, and cable TV. All sites $11/ night with 30 amp or 50 amp service. Tents are welcome. The campground is right on Torch Lake back a ways from the park but still within easy walking distance of three restaurants, a good supermarket, and an interesting town to explore. Reservations advised but not always necessary from late June through mid-August. July 4 weekend is reserved way ahead by homecoming locals.
From M-26/Calumet St., turn onto Third opposite the Lindell Chocolate Shop toward the lake. Park is in a block. Open from Mem. Day weekend thru Sept. 30. Wheelchair access: yes. Sites are grassy and hardened with gravel. Paved walks connect park attractions to town. Family-friendly. Dogs permitted on leash.
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