Thursday, December 26, 2013

THE HELP CREWS (3)

 KEWEENAW NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

MI Keweenaw NHP Events KEWE Staff 082412 DSC_0132

The Quincy Smelter has been fortunate that it counts the National Park Service as one of it's friends.


Although the Quincy Smelter is owned by Franklin Township, we are within the boundaries established by Congress for this park. By that fact, the township is eligible to receive assistance from the National Park Service as have many other historical sites in the Keweenaw.   


There was concern raised by the Quincy Smelter Association over the gradual disintegration of the smelter's buildings. Roofs had  collapsed or were in danger of it.  Walls were coming down or weakened and dangerous. Birds had made their home in the many buildings. With no security, vandalism was ongoing. Artifacts were damaged, stolen, strewn around.  It was heading toward eventual demolition. 

 

The smelter is in a valley on the Portage Canal, bracketed by Houghton and Hancock.  Along with the Quincy Mine on the top of the hill,  we present a striking and iconic image of copper history to visitors entering our area. 

The people who turned a near ruin into one of the jewels of Keweenaw's history are the National Park Service staff.  Almost five years ago, they started replacing roofs, closing window openings, fixed collapsing walls, cleaning up the debris, cataloging the artifacts and much more.

Fast forward to 2013.  The Park Service put a new roof on the Mineral Warehouse.   A dominating presence next to the current recreation trail and former railroad right of way.  Trains drove up the incline with their copper ore and dropped them in the bins below.  Before a shingle could be put on, they had to replace weakened and decaying timbers and boards as well as removing the old roof slate.  They cleaned up the interior so future visitors can see another part of our proud heritage.  They did many more tasks that are helping preserve the other buildings in the smelter site.  John Rosemurgy, Steve D'Agostini and Steve Delong  and their crews deserve thanks for the work accomplished this past year.

On the education end, we want to thank Kathleen Harter, Valerie Newman, Brian Hoduski and Jeremiah Mason for their assistance and advice on historical interpretation and the fine museum exhibits workshop in November.

Vital to all this activity is the Advisory Commission.  It is made up of people in our community who have the expertise and interest to see the park continue to grow and improve. Scott See, Executive Director, wears many hats in coordinating with the multiple Heritage Sites comprising the "living history" of the Keweenaw. Scott's current challenge is overseeing the purchase of the Quincy Smelter from negotiating to fundraising and eventually bringing the smelter under the auspices of the Park Service.  We wish him and the board success in the coming year.

Credit for overseeing all this goes to Superintendent Mike Pflaum and his predecessor, recently retired Jim Corless.  Mike is transitioning to a new job as the head of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising, Michigan in 2014.  Good luck!

The Association looks forward to another exciting year with the National Park staff in 2014.





Notice: The Save Quincy Smelter website has been closed.  The website name has been purchased by some one else and has no connection with the Quincy Smelter Association

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

THE HELP CREWS (2)

MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

When the Association first started, a lot was accomplished with help from MTU faculty and students: making the community aware of the smelter's importance in Keweenaw history, fundraising activities, conducting tours, setting up blogs and much more.  That connection changed as students graduated and faculty went on to other activities. With their help, the smelter was on its way to being saved from the wrecking ball.

In 2013 contact was initiated again.  We thought the smelter association and the university would benefit from Michigan Technological University involvement.  

Tim Scarlett TEDx 2013


We want to thank Professor Tim Scarlett (above) for all his work and energy in getting students and faculty involved in the smelter.  Tim is director of Graduate Studies in Industrial Heritage and Archaeology.

John Baeten and Joe Licavoli for their help on the tours and the stuff that needs to be done before and after.

Karl Warsinski and Pat Quimby for their blacksmithing demonstration during our tours.

We are appreciative to the University's Marketing and Alumni Relations Departments for including the Smelter in their events again.  They made an audience available to us who would not have had an opportunity to see some of the great heritage sites in the Keweenaw. 

A film about the smelter and our activities was made by students in Erin Smith's documentary media class in the Department of Humanities.  It has the quality of a professional production with the haunting touch of a Ken Burns documentary.  The student producers are: Vienna Chapin, Devin Leonarduzzi, Reyna Bennett, Megan Cole. Congratulations!
Let us know when its out.  We want to see it again.

We wish you all the best in 2014.   And for another great year of collaboration!

100_0318 The Cupola building


Monday, December 16, 2013

QUINCY SMELTER ASSOCIATION MONTHLY MEETING NOTICE

The Quincy Smelter Association 
48991 Maple St.*

Date: December 19th, 2013

Time: 6:00 PM

Open to the public 


*Franklin Township Hall on M-26, 1/4 mile north of the bridge



Thursday, December 12, 2013


THE HELP CREWS (1)

We want to thank our volunteers who made it possible.  Its amazing the amount of work it takes to pull off these events each year.


Designing our new pamphlet
Figuring out how to set up lighting
Working with the Park Service and the Advisory Commission
Writing grants
Meetings, meetings, meetings
Recruiting volunteers
Our main misssion: Conducting tours


So thanks to Judy, Mary, John S., John B., Joe L., Karl, Pat, Rob


We had a great season in 2013.


For all of us, the tours are our passion.


Have a great holiday season.  

See you in 2014.



100_0166 We go in dark places



100_0055 Some of us smile



100_0239 This is it!



100_0247 A happy work crew



100_0244 Superman?



Sunday, December 1, 2013

HOT BUILDING, COOL PHOTO

REVERBERATORY BUILDING
FALL, 2013

This is a view of the east end where the casting machine and large No. 5 furnace sit inside. Except for the covered windows, this is how the building would have looked when built in the early 20th century.

Who would of thought galvanized steel could look this sharp? 

Nice photo Judy.

Enjoy!
100_0210 - Copy

Saturday, October 26, 2013

A SUCCESSFUL 2013 TOUR SEASON AT THE 

QUINCY SMELTER


2013 is now history.

The Quincy Smelter held its last tours of the season in October.  We started out with a lackluster turn out with lots of rainy weather early in the summer.  Then the weather got better and better.  We went out with a bang in September and October.

Attendance was great.  Nature cooperated and gave us a muted, but beautiful fall color send off.

When taking a tour with us in the heart of the Houghton-Hancock area, not only do you feel as if you're in the middle of Portage Lake, looking at the lift bridge between the two cities, but also the great views in  the valley.

What better place could you be?

FRANKLIN 150

Franklin Township had its 150th anniversary celebration in October.  Quincy Smelter had tours for residents on a blustery Saturday.  We enjoyed giving the tours and the residents were appreciative of our efforts.  All in all, a good way to go out.

See you in 2014!






Saturday, October 19, 2013


QUINCY SMELTER IN THE NEWS

Mineral Warehouse roof stabilized and newly shingled.  It looks great. Take a look when you're on M-26 coming or going from Hancock or Houghton.  We're proud of the work the National Park Service did this summer to save another of our buildings.


See this article in our hometown paper, the Daily Mining Gazette:


http://www.mininggazette.com/page/content.detail/id/531611/Renovation-of-Quincy-continues.html?nav=5006

If you want more information and photos of the warehouse, go to the Copper Country Explorer link on this page.  See the second and third articles on the list. 

 

Improvements like these will make the smelter an even more exciting place to visit in 2014!


Come and visit our website during the next few months as we wait for winter to end and start our next season of tours.  We'll put in interesting news, history and, hopefully, photos.


Visit us regularly during the spring and summer seasons for tour information.

Friday, October 4, 2013

QUINCY SMELTER TOURS WILL GO ON FOR OCTOBER 12TH, 2013

The Quincy Smelter Association is a private non-profit organization that provides tours of the smelter each year.  The smelter site is owned by Franklin Township which has authorized the association to conduct tours.

We are not affected by the shut down of the National Park Service.  

Our tours will be held on October 12th, 2013 from 12 PM to 4 PM.  See previous  blog for details on our tours.  


Come one, come all for the last tour day of the 2013 season.  If we're lucky, the hills in Hancock and Houghton will be ablaze with fall color as you enjoy our guided tours!

Friday, September 27, 2013

QUINCY SMELTER CLOSED...IN 1971!

In October the Quincy Smelter will have been closed for 42 years.  I was looking for some details regarding the closing on the web.   Couldn't find any details, except it closed that year.  But, I found an interesting website (more below).

What we tell visitors during our tours is that the Environmental Protection Agency closed the smelter because of pollution issues.  The EPA required everyone to leave and to not take anything from the smelter.  And it stayed locked up, permanently.  Through this accident of history, we now have an intact smelter to show visitors how our ancestors made copper during the Keweenaw's heyday.

Now to the website.  The individual was on the smelter grounds before the buildings were stabilized, primarily putting on new roofs and covering up the doors and glassless window openings.  This work was done by the National Park Service staff of the  Keewenaw National Historical Park and private contractors.

His website is called "Substreet.org  Guerilla HIstory, Photography and Urban Exploration".  What's different is he actually went up on the steel framework of the reverberatory furnace building.  Remember this is a building that has been deteriorating and the steel work is rusted from about four decades of neglect.  He climbs up and takes photos from about 30 feet above the floor.  Lucky for him and us!

Link: http://substreet.org/quincy-smelter/

REMEMBER: OUR LAST TOUR OF THE SEASON IS OCTOBER 12, 2013, 12-4 PM.  SEE THE PREVIOUS BLOG FOR DETAILS.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

OCTOBER SMELTER TOURS

LAST TIME TO SEE THE QUINCY SMELTER  IN 2013

October 12th, 2013 
12:00 to 4:00 PM

Children under 10 free
AAA discount available to members

Our tours start on the hour.  You will have a guide for each tour to explain how copper ore was turned into copper ingots as we go through the smelter buildings.

We are on a former industrial site.  We recommend you wear shoes, not open sandals. 

We hope to see you at the only intact copper smelter in the country. This facility is a tribute to America's industrial might in the early 20th century.

As part of our fundraising efforts, we have high quality T-shirts for sale.  One is a sharp dark blue with white lettering with the neat Quincy Smelter logo.  The other shirt is a light tan with a vintage photo of the smelter plus lettering.  Come on a tour and leave well dressed!

Quincy Smelter Association is a private, non-profit organization.  The Quincy Smelter is owned by Franklin Township.  The township has given the QSA permission to conduct tours.  QSA has no affiliation with any governmental organization.

Quincy Smelter Association can conduct tours for private groups provided we have sufficient notice and volunteers available.

This is the official website of the Quincy .Smelter Association
SUCCESSFUL SEPTEMBER TOURS!

We  had a great time giving smelter tours last Saturday.  Thanks to our volunteers, we were able to give 5 one hour plus tours.  

We got in a whole bunch of T-shirts.  One design is dark blue with white lettering and the sharp Quincy Smelter logo!  The tan model has a photo of the smelter along with the lettering.  While not flying off the shelves, they're becoming popular movers.  We have XL to S sizes.  Come on a tour and leave with our cool shirts that help us with our work.

Besides thanking our regular tour guides, I want to welcome our new guide, Rob, who did a great job giving his first tours this past weekend.

Finally, I want to thank our blacksmiths, Karl Warsinski and Patrick Quimby, for putting on a great demonstration during our tours.  They made a bunch of neat hooks so our visitors were able to see how blacksmiths forged steel into tools.  They also did a great job of explaining the role of the blacksmith in our smelter.

So once again, thanks to everyone, visitors and volunteers!

See you in October!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013


SEPTEMBER SMELTER TOUR

Next Tour:
September 14th, 2013 
11 AM to 3 PM

Cost: $5/person.  
Children under 10 free
AAA discount available to members

Our tours start on the hour.  You will have a guide for each tour to explain what happened in each building and how copper ingots were made.

This is a former industrial site.  We recommend you wear shoes, not open sandals. 

We hope to see you at the only intact copper smelter in the country.  This facility is a tribute to America's industrial might in the early 20th century when copper was king in the Keweenaw.

Quincy Smelter Association is a private, non-profit organization.  The Quincy Smelter is owned by Franklin Township.  The township has given the QSA permission to conduct tours.  QSA has no affiliation with any governmental organization.

Quincy Smelter Association can conduct tours for private groups provided we have sufficient notice and volunteers available.

Our website, Save Quincy Smelter.Org, is temporarily unavailable.   We are working to restore it in the near future.  

Tuesday, July 30, 2013


AUGUST SMELTER TOUR

Next Tour:
August 17th, 2013 
10 AM to 3 PM

Cost: $5/person.  
Children under 10 free
AAA discount available to members

Our tours start on the hour.  You will have a guide for each tour to explain what happened in each building and how copper ingots were made.

This is a former industrial site.  We recommend you wear shoes, not open sandals. 

We hope to see you at the only intact copper smelter in the country.  This facility is a tribute to America's industrial might in the early 20th century when copper was king in the Keweenaw.

Quincy Smelter Association is a private, non-profit organization.  The Quincy Smelter is owned by Franklin Township.  The township has given the QSA permission to conduct tours.  QSA has no affiliation with any governmental organization.

Quincy Smelter Association can conduct tours for private groups provided we have sufficient notice and volunteers available.

Our website, Save Quincy Smelter.Org, is temporarily unavailable.   We are working to restore it in the near future.  

Thursday, July 11, 2013

JULY SMELTER TOUR

Next Tour:
July 20th, 2013 
10 AM to 3 P

Cost: $5/person.  
Children under 10 free
AAA discount available to members

Our tours start on the hour.  You will have a guide for each tour to explain what happened in each building and how copper ingots were made.

This is a former industrial site.  We recommend you wear shoes, not sandals. 

We hope to see you at the only intact copper smelter in the country.  This facility is a tribute to America's industrial might in the early 20th century when copper was king in the Keweenaw.

Quincy Smelter Association is a private, non-profit organization.  The Quincy Smelter is owned by Franklin Township.  The township has given the QSA permission to conduct tours.  QSA has no affiliation with any governmental organization.

Quincy Smelter Association can conduct tours for private groups provided we have sufficient notice and volunteers available.

Our website, Save Quincy Smelter.Org, is temporarily unavailable.   We are working to restore it in the near future.  

Thursday, May 30, 2013

8K SMELT


People have been working copper for 8,000 years.  Smelting came along after another 3000 to 4000 years.  Imagine our ancestors standing around a smelting site as if it were a campfire and breathing in all those fumes.  During the first few thousand years, smelting production was usually in the hundreds of pounds or less a year at individual sites from present day Turkey to the Caspian Sea.  Take a look at this link at how our ancestors would have smelted copper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uHc4Hirexc


Fast forward to 19th Century Britain...


Cornwall was a major copper producer into the mid-nineteenth century when their mines started running out.  What's important at this time for the UP copper producers is Cornish smelters were state of the art.   When the smelters shed jobs, the Cornish smelter workers as well as their mining brethen came to the US and put their skills to use, developing the US copper smelting industry.  By coincidence, copper mining started in the UP just as the British copper industry petered out.  Their misfortune, our good fortune!


And economic development, 1898 style, led to...


When the Quincy Mining Co. decided to build a smelter in 1898, it was able to take advantage of all the technological advances of the past century, thanks in part to the advances in smelter technology brought over from Cornwall.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013


WE'LL BE THERE FOR FINN FEST 2013


Soon Finn Fest starts in Hancock. They'll be clocking into the Fest on June 19th and heading out on Sunday. The Quincy Smelter is a hop, skip and a jump from downtown Hancock. 

Why not join us on Saturday.

The Quincy Smelter Association is hosting its first tour on June 22nd between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM at the Quincy Smelter. We're a right turn on M-26 and about quarter mile up the road on the right. Every hour, starting at 10:00 AM, we'll be offering a guided tour of the entire smelter. The last tour begins at 2:00 PM. Our entrance fee is $5.00 a person, children under 10 free and a discount for AAA members.

The Quincy Smelter is the only historical copper smelter in America. Come see how your ancestors made the UP famous for its copper. Many of the buildings are intact and we have a lot of the original machinery. You'll be able to see how power was generated, coal and ore brought in, how it was moved to the furnaces, what it took to melt the ore and turn it into copper, how it was stored and shipped and much, much more.

See you there!

Sunday, May 12, 2013

FIRST QUINCY SMELTER TOUR OF 2013


FIRST TOUR OF 2013

Our first tour of 2013 is June 22, 2013.  Tours will start on the hour at 10:00 AM with the last tour starting at 2:00 PM.


We look forward to showing you the buildings and machinery that were used to produce pure copper at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Quincy Smelter is the only intact historical copper smelter in the country. Its a rare opportunity to see a part of America's industrial heritage.

The Quincy Smelter Association can provide tours to groups or organizations depending on the availability of volunteer staff.


Contact Information:
Horst Schmidt
Horsthear@ Yahoo.com


The Quincy Smelter Association is a private, non-profit volunteer organization.  The fees we charge for tours are used to pay operating expenses . The Quincy Smelter is owned by Franklin Township. The Town Board has authorized the Association to run the tour operation.


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

SPRING AT THE SMELTER


As I'm sitting here in the Portage Lake Library in Houghton looking across the canal at the smelter, the water is open and the snow is beginning its meltdown.  This would be the start of the shipping season with lots of copper ingots to send out.  

There are the pilings of the dock sticking out of the water where ships and lake boats tied up to get their cargo.  The warehouse next to the dock had lots of the copper smelted during the winter.  The warehouse is the large wood structure on the east end of the site.  It also was where the workers cleaned up on the 2nd floor after their shifts.  

Originally, copper ingots were packed in wooden barrels made by the smelter's cooperage shop.  This would have been in the twilight years of sailing ships and the emergence of the lake boats we know today.

Presumably, the ingots would have been hoisted and tightly packed into the holds (as the cargo storage area is known) of the ships.  If you've been on a small boat or ship,  you know how much everything can shift around.  If the cargo got loose or they had just piled the ingots loose in there, it could have capsized or torn a hole in the hull during a storm.  The copper went to foundries in cities along the other Great Lakes to be turned into wire, cooking utensils and many other products.  

And this was also the time when the coal ships came in.  More later...

Monday, April 8, 2013

SNOW, MORE SNOW, YET MORE SNOW!

Its hard to believe all the snow still here in the UP.  As you can imagine, the smelter is completely cocooned in the white stuff.  If you're coming into Houghton, stop at the Chamber of Commerce parking lot (where US 41 splits into two one way streets).  You'll get a panoramic view of the smelter site on the other side of the Portage Canal.  With the construction of new metal roofs a couple of years ago, the walls and interiors of most of the buildings are more protected from the ravages of nature.  It means the smelter will be here for many years.

You may also notice the "land" the smelter buildings sit on protrudes further into the Portage Canal than other properties around them.  Before there was a smelter, the Quincy Mining Company sent its ore down the hill from the mine head to be processed for copper in its mill.  First, the ore was pounded by heavy metal rods in "stamp" machines into sand, hence, "stamp sands".  Then the next step was to separate the copper grains from the sand by using large tables where the sand was floated away leaving the copper.  Since the percentage of copper was very low, the the high volume of sand had to be disposed of by the company.  The easiest way was to dump it into the canal.  By 1890, the Federal government said the company could not continue because the Canal channel was endangered.  The mill was closed.

So, that's why the smelter sticks out so far.  If you find this story interesting, post a note to let us know whether or not you would like more.