U.P. History - Michigan's Upper Peninsula

<html> <head> <title>U.P. History - Michigan's Upper Peninsula</title> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1"> <META Pragma: No-Cache> <META name="Pragma" No-Cache> <META Cache-control: No-Cache> <META HTTP-EQUIV="expires" CONTENT="Wed, 26 Feb 1997 08:21:57 GMT"> <META name="description" content="Upper Peninsula's history as revealed by 33 key dates or eras, from volcanic eruptions 3 billion years ago to the 1992 creation of the unique Keweenaw National Historic Park."> <base href="http://hunts-upguide.com/"> <link href="/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <center> <table width="100%" bgcolor="#F5F5D5" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 border=0> <tr> <td width="45%" colspan=2 height=82 bgcolor="#306799" valign="top"> <table width="100%" cellpadding=22 cellspacing=0 border=0> <tr> <td align="left"> <b><font size="-2" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"> <font color="#FEE384">We welcome your comments experiences & corrections. 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History</h1> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="30" height=8 alt="-"></center></td> </tr>  <tr> <td align="center"> <img src="images/1x1.gif" width="30" height=7 alt="-"><br> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="63%">   <font face="Georgia"> <CENTER><B><U>U.P. Historical Timeline</U></B></CENTER><br><br><B>c. 3 billion years ago</B>. Huge volcanic eruptions propel to the surface iron and copper in the western Upper Peninsula. This activity leaves most of the western U.P. some 800+ feet higher than the eastern U.P. <br><br><B>c. 10,000 years ago</B>. The fourth, most recent Ice Age recedes, forming the current shape and terrain of the U.P. and the Great Lakes. Glaciers 2 miles high have sheered much of the U.P.'s surface to or near bedrock, reducing the land's fertility.<br><br><B>c. 5,000 years ago. </B>The U.P.'s climate warms enough to again support wildlife. The so-called "Old Copper Indians" occupy parts of the peninsula. They work U.P. copper into prized objects traded among many tribes, then mysteriously disapear.<br><br><B>Over 1,200 years ago.</B> Ojibway and Menominee Indians settle parts of the Great Lakes. Less technologically sophisticated than tribes to the south, they depend on fishing with nets for much of their food.<br><br><B>c. 1620.</B> Explorer Etienne Brulé of France crosses the St. Marys River that forms today's Canadian-U.P. border. Probably the first European to set foot in Michigan, he was seeking a route to the Far East for the king of France.<br><br><B>Late 1600s. </B>Highly lucrative trading of beaver pelts spreads into the Great Lakes region. Sault Ste. Marie and Mackinac Island become strategic French fur trading posts.<br><br><B>1760s.</B> The British defeat the French and gain control of the entire Great Lakes area, including the U.P. Many of French origin remain in the U.P to this day.<br><br><B>1779.</B> British begin building a new fort on Mackinac Island to defend against the Americans. Fur trading continues to thrive in the region.<br><br><B>1796.</B> Americans defeat the British and are ceded lands including the U.P. and Mackinac Island.<br> <table align="right" cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=250> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/320.gif" width=250 height=175 alt="Beaumont" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company retail store on Mackinac Island.</b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> <br><B>1811.</B> John Jacob Astor monopolizes the Great Lakes lucrative fur trading business, using Mackinac Island as his base of operations. The trade flourished into the 1830s, then quickly declined.<br><br><B>1837.</B> Described in a federal report as a "sterile region on the shores of <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/munising_lake_superior.html" target="_top">Lake Superior</a> destined by soil and climate to remain forever a wilderness," the U.P becomes a part of the new state of Michigan. Ohio, in turn, is given the disputed city of Toledo.<br><br><B>1839. </B>Astor's American Fur Company builds the U.P.'s first railroad, a .7 mile long line around the St. Mary's River rapids in Sault Ste. Marie. It operates until 1855 when the Soo canal Locks are completed. <br><br><B>1840s.</B> U.P. copper in the Keweenaw and iron mines just south and west of Marquette proliferate, but won't become profitable for another 2 or 3 decades.The federal government creates Fort Wilkins near Copper Harbor to maintain order on this frontier.<br> <table align="right" cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=329> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-1"><b>...continued below...</b></font> <br clear="all"> <hr> <center> <script type="text/javascript"> </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script> </center> <hr> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/318.gif" width=329 height=185 alt="Soo Locks" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>Soo Locks during the steam age.</b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> <br><B>1855.</B> The Soo Locks opens, greatly boosting iron ore shipments from <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/munising_lake_superior.html" target="_top">Lake Superior</a> to lower Great Lakes markets. Eventually its tonnage will surpass both the Suez and Panama canals.<br><br><B>1859</B>. The first dock for shipping U.P. iron ore from the Marquette Range (from Neagunee to Michigamme) to the rest of the country opens in Marquette, which becomes the commercial center of the U.P.<br><br><B>1860s.</B> Keweenaw copper production begins to skyrocket. Within two decades this thin 40-mile stretch supplies 90% of the country. <br><br><B>1870s</B>. Highly productive iron mines begin operation in the Menominee Range centered around Iron Mountain and Iron River.<br><br><B>1875. </B>The first bridge between Houghton and Hancock is built, connecting the upper Keweenaw Peninsula with the rest of the U.P.<br><br><B>1880s.</B> Michigan's lumbering boom reaches the U.P., continuing into the 1920s and removing most of the peninsula's vast forests.<br><br><B>1882.</B> Railroad car ferry service begins between Lower and Upper Peninsulas. It ceases when the <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/st__ignace_mackinac_bridge.html" target="_top">Mackinac Bridge</a> opens in 1957.<br><br><B>1885.</B> Michigan School of Mines is created by the state legislature. Originally focusing on mining, it becomes Michigan Technological University and grows to become nationally respected with a broader focus on engineering, science, and technology,.<br><br><B>1887.</B> The <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/city_of_mackinac_island_grand_hotel.html" target="_top">Grand Hotel</a> on Mackinac Island is built by railroad companies seeking new sources of revenue as profits from transporting timber in the Lower Peninsula decline. Mackinac Island develops into a nationally famous vacation destination.<br><br><B>1888</B>. The railroad bridge connecting the U.P. with Canada at Sault Ste. Marie opens. In less than 2 years the Soo Line offers luxury train travel across the U.P. between Minneapolis and Montreal.<br><center> <table cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 border=0 width=500> <tr> <td> <img src="http://hunts-upguide.com/photos/317.gif" width=500 height=137 alt="CCI mine Ishpeming" border=0> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <font face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica" size="-2"> <b>Cleveland-Cliffs Mining president William Gwinn Mather could afford to combine beauty and function in choosing a noted Prairie School architect to design shafthouses resembling Egyptian obelisks. Made of reinforced concrete, they were completed in 1919 and remain iconic Ishpeming landmarks. This photo was taken before 1955 when the boxy Mather G headframe was built. Sixty miles of mine passages are under the city of Ishpeming. </b> </font> </td> </tr> </table> </center><p> <br><B>1890s.</B> The booming Gogebic Range centered around Ironwood helps the U.P. become the nation's biggest supplier of iron ore. The industry peaks in 1920, then steadily declines as deepr mines and scarcer iron ore make production too costly. Iron mining in the Marquette Range continues to this day.<br><br><B>1899.</B> Northern State Normal School Michigan University is founded as a teachers' college by the state legislature. It becomes Northern Michigan University and grows to become U.P.'s largest university with 8,000 students.<br><br><B>c. 1900</B>. U.P. copper mining begins a slow decline due to cheaper surface mines elsewhere. The last mine closes in 1965.<br><br><B>1928-31.</B> Huge tracts of U.P. land, part public domain, part abandoned cutover timberlands, are assembled to become today's million-acre Ottawa National Forest and 900,000-acre Hiawatha National Forest. Together with the vast state park and forest lands, over one third of the U.P. eventually becomes government owned recreational land. <br><br><B>1930s.</B> Sea lampreys invade the Great Lakes. The lampreys, along with alewives (introducted in the 1870s), overfishing, and pollution largely destroys commercial fishing in the U.P. by 1960. The only remaining commercial fishing in the U.P. is by Native Americans, who are allowed to use gill nets.<br><br><B>1940s.</B> The U.P.'s population declines by 20,000 as booming Southeastern Michigan factories lure laborers.<br><br><B>1944.</B> Porcupine State Park is created, eventually growing to 58,000 acres and becoming one of the country's premier parklands.<br><br><B>1947</B>. Tahquamenon Falls State Park, with the U.P.'s biggest waterfall, is finally created after years of assembling parcels. Today it totals over 38,000 acres.<br><br><B>1950s</B>. The U.S. Air Force establishes two huge B-52 bases in the U.P., positioned to attack the Soviet Union across the Arctic Circle. Kincheloe AFB is built near Kinross; Sawyer is built just south of Marquette. They both grow into sizable communities of about 10,000. Kincheloe closes in the 1970s, Sawyer in the 1990s.<br><br><B>1957. </B>The <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/st__ignace_mackinac_bridge.html" target="_top">Mackinac Bridge</a> opens, connecting Michigan's two peninsulas. U.P tourism grows substantially.<br><br><B>1958</B>. Ski-doo, the first widely popular snowmobile, goes on the market. Within a decade snowmobiling becomes the U.P.'s most popular winter recreation, attracting sledders from throughout the Midwest. Hundreds of miles of abandoned railroads beds are eventually converted to snowmobile trails. <br><br><B>1970s. </B>The U.P. once again becomes predominantly forested with mature trees.<br><br><B>1972.</B> <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/munising_pictured_rocks_national_lakeshore.html" target="_top">Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore</a> is created by Congress as part of the National Parks Service, the nation's first national lakeshore. Its 73,000 acres stretch 43 miles along <a href="http://hunts-upguide.com/munising_lake_superior.html" target="_top">Lake Superior</a>.<br><br><B>Early 1980s.</B> High-stake bingo games begun by the Keewenaw Bay Tribe in Baraga county. This grows into a large gambling industry across the U.P., which now has 10 casinos.<br><br><B>1988</B>. The Straits Correctional Facility at Kincheloe is built, beginning a boom in the U.P. prison industry, along with casinos the U.P.'s top employer. Only 2 prisons (Marquette in 1889 & Ojibwa in 1971) had been built before Straits, but 5 more are built in the next 5 years.<br><br><B>1992.</B> The Keweenaw National Historic Park is created. Unique among Natonal Parks because of its multifaceted cooperative relationship with nearby historic sites, it focuses on the U.P.'s legendary copper mining with 3 centers: the Village of Calumet, the former Calumet & Hecla Mining Company's properties, and the former Quincy Mining Company properties. <br><CENTER><br> —Don Hunt<br></CENTER> <br> </font> </td> </tr> </table>  </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=5 align="center">  <br> <center> <font size="+1" color="#454545" face="Verdana,Arial,Helvetica">Copyright © 1997-2007 Midwestern Guides</font> </center> </td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>