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REPUBLIC
POINTS
OF
INTEREST
Republic Open Pit Iron Mine. Look down into a vast open pit of an inactive mine. Interpretive panels detail Republic's mining history from the 1870s into the open-pit era ...
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Pascoe House. An unaltered 1880s house is a museum with changing exhibits, an illustrated timeline of Republic, Witch Lake, and Black River history, and recreated rooms from 1900 ...
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Witbeck Rapids and Paddling the Michigamme. A pretty, easy to reach stretch of whitewater, a large and complex reservoir with wilderness shores and many sand beaches, and varied paddling and good fishing without much pressure ...
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Republic Township Hall exhibit. Photos and text about the area's Finnish homesteaders, famously resourceful and hardy ...
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Woodworks Unlimited/Quiet Sports Outfitters. Partly an informal hardware store & workshop museum, partly a showroom for striking rustic furniture, partly a kayak and canoe dealer that also offers paddling safety lessons and guided trips on the Michigamme River system ...
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Antiques of Republic. Lots of homey and serviceable furniture, cookware, waffle irons and other small applicances, and dishes, largely from the 1930s through the 1950s in the former Arola Bottling Works ...
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Witbeck Rapids and Paddling the Michigamme
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In Canoeing Michigan Rivers: A Comprehensive Guide to 45 Rivers Jerry Dennis details a paddling trip on the Michigamme from Republic Dam above the roadside park to the Michigamme Reservoir (25 miles, 8 hours) and then from Way Dam at the reservoir's mouth to the bridge over M-69 east of Crystal Falls (7 miles and 2 1/2 to 3 hours by Jerry's estimate). By the way, the correct pronunciation of Michigamme is like Michigan, with the third syllable "gah" rhyming with "ah."
WITBECK RAPIDS is easily accessibly whitewater a bit east off M-95, less than two miles south of the M-DOT park. A short unpaved road leads east to it. It's a beautiful spot, much appreciated by local people as a picnic destination if a groundcloth is brought along. The DNR removed the rustic campground that used to be here, because of the difficulty of handicap access, local people were told. However, the pit toilet remains, and people continue to camp here informally.
Jerry Dennis writes, "The rapids themselves are a series of dense rock gardens with table-size to automobile-size boulders stacked to form natural reefs. Passage is through channels and short, quick chutes in and among the rocks." If the water is high, it's probably not advisable to paddle the rapids because of tight turns and sharp drops, Jerry advises.
The Michigamme River's many hydropower dams make for extreme water fluctuations, Jerry writes, and it's tricky navigating through the bays, islands, and channels on the impoundments like the MICHIGAMME RESERVOIR and Peavey Pond. Also, the shores of the impoundments are apt to be in wilderness areas, far from houses or roads in case of trouble. The whole Michigamme system has excellent fishing for walleye, pike, smallmouth bass, and muskie.
Jon knows the Michigamme Reservoir downstream and likes it because of its accessibility, islands, wilderness shores, and bays that allow for protected paddling even on windy days. "It's got 88 miles of shoreline and three-fourths of it is beach," Jon says. Birding here can be outstanding, because of the wilderness character, trees for perches, and plentiful fish. The easy put-in point for the reservoir is north of Channing. Take Sawyer Lake Road from two places on M-95 and turn west on Race Road.
We Energies, formerly Wisconsin Electric Power, has developed many small primitive campgrounds along the Michigamme, the Michigamme Reservoir, and Peavey Pond south of Crystal Falls. All are available without charge. Ten such campgrounds are on the Michigamme Reservoir alone. Visit www.we-energies.com for photos, descriptions, and maps. For a large, clearer map in color, contact
We Energies, (906) 779-2479. 800 S. Industrial Park Drive, Iron Mountain MI 49801.
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