QUINCY SMELTER TOURS ALL SUMMER LONG

QUINCY SMELTER TOURS: NEW AND IMPROVED

In cooperation with the Quincy Mine Hoist Association--the folks who run the mine tours on the top of the hill--will be doing tours all summer in 2018.

Here is their schedule:

From June 1^st through September 3^rd, the tours will be

              -Monday through Saturday, 11am – 2pm. 

              -Tours begin on the hour, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm.  The last tour is at 2pm.

              -Tickets may be purchased at the Smelter or the Gift shop at the Quincy Mine

Since the Smelter is a former industrial site, we recommend visitors, for their protection, wear closed shoes.  No flip flops or sandals.

Visitors will be required to wear hard hats and safety glasses or prescription eye wear.  Sunglasses are not acceptable as we will be going into buildings with reduced visibility.  Visitors will be asked to sign an agreement acknowledging their willingness to wear hard hats and glasses.

The Quincy Smelter Association--separate organization--will continue have its once a month tours on Saturdays from June through October with dates listed in a separate blog below.

QUINCY SMELTER JUNE TOUR

 QUINCY SMELTER ASSOCIATION JUNE TOUR

Date: June 16^th, 2018

Time: 11 AM to 3 PM

$5/person, children under 5 free

Directions: Turn right at the Bridge on Hwy 41 in Houghton. Turn right again at the end of the Bridge onto M-26, go 1/4 mile and watch for the sign on the right.

Going to Bridgefest?  Why not join us for a tour.  A quick drive to M-26 on the Hancock side of the Bridge will get you there in 30 seconds!

 Time to get into our first tour of the Quincy Smelter this Saturday. A unique opportunity to see an intact early 20^th century copper smelter. We lead you through buildings of the former Quincy Mining Co. where the machinery still stands that turned ore into copper ingots. Tours start on the hour with the last tour at 2 PM. A former industrial site, we recommend closed footwear.

2018 QUINCY SMELTER TOURS

HOLY COW!  

2018 is here! Its almost May.  Spring started during the last couple of weeks.  The snow is disappearing rapidly--well, for the UP, its rapid.  We here at the Association are gearing up for the 2018 tour season.

We are open once a month from 11 AM to 3 PM.  Our tours start on the hour with the last one beginning at 2 PM.  Here are our tour dates:

June 16th
July 14th
Aug. 4th
Sept. 8th
Oct. 13th

THESE DATES DON'T FIT WITH YOUR SCHEDULE? WE'LL TALK ABOUT AN ALTERNATIVE IN A FUTURE BLOG

The Quincy Smelter is a former industrial site.  There are potential hazards.  We provide hard hats and safety glasses for your protection.  We advise everyone to wear enclosed footwear.  Please follow the instructions of your tour guide for your safety and that of others in your tour group.

The Quincy Smelter Association under agreement with the Advisory Commission of the Keweenaw National Historical Park, the owner, to provide tours of the smelter.

SEPTEMBER TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT

 HARD TO BELIEVE...
                  SEPTEMBER ARRIVES

Quincy Smelter Tour
Hancock, MI

Date: September 9^th, 2017

Time: 11 AM to 3 PM

As we head towards fall, don't miss the Copper Country's industrial heritage, with breathtaking views of our mountains on our waterfront location in beautiful Houghton and Hancock. Sponsored by the Quincy Smelter Association

.

Directions: Turn right after crossing the bridge on to M-26, go 1/4 mile to the sign on the right.

The smelter is a former industrial site.  We recommend wearing closed shoes for your safety.

QUINCY SMELTER TOUR AUGUST 19TH

SUMMER TIME...
AND THE TOURS ARE EASY!

August 19^th, 2017

11:00 AM to 3:00 PM

$5/person, children under 5 and under free

The Quincy Smelter Association hosts tours monthly so visitors such as yourself can see the only intact copper smelter from the American Industrial Revolution around the turn of the 20th Century. See much of the original machinery used to turn ore into copper ingots. Not only can you see the original equipment from the smelter's construction in 1898. But our guides will point out the major changes in the Great Expansion of 1920. We look forward to showing this and much more.

Since much of the tour is spent in the buildings, this is a great event even on rainy days.

Directions: Turn right after crossing the bridge on to M-26, go 1/4 mile to the sign on the right.

The smelter is a former industrial site. We recommend wearing closed shoes for your safety.

NO TIME FOR A TOUR DURING THE DAY? COME TO THE...

Quincy Smelter Summer EveningTour

Date: July12^th, 2017

Time: 6:00 PM

$5/person, children under 5 free

Summer has arrived in the Keweenaw. Long evenings. Beautiful vistas. A unique opportunity to see an intact early 20^th century copper smelter. We lead you through buildings of the former Quincy Mining Co. where the machinery still stands that turned ore into copper ingots. Tour starts at 6 PM. A former industrial site, we recommend closed footwear.

SUMMER EVENING TOURS

QUINCY SMELTER ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES EVENING TOURS IN JULY AND AUGUST

Watch for announcements of evening tours in the next 2 months. The tours will start at 6 PM. We will be watching weather forecasts for sunny evenings so visitors can enjoy the beauty of sunsets down the Portage Canal as we go through the smelter site.

The fee is $5/person with children 5 and under free. This a former industrial site. We recommend wearing closed footware.

JUNE 24TH QUINCY SMELTER TOUR

COMING THIS SATURDAY!

Event: Quincy Smelter Tour

Date: June 24^th, 2017

Time: 11 AM to 3 PM

$5/person, children under 5 free

Summer arrives this week in the Keweenaw. Time to get in the first tour of the Quincy Smelter this Saturday. A unique opportunity to see an intact early 20^th century copper smelter. We lead you through buildings of the former Quincy Mining Co. where the machinery still stands that turned ore into copper ingots. Tours start on the hour with the last tour at 2 PM. A former industrial site, we recommend closed footwear. 

We look forward to seeing you!

KNHP AC HELPS HISTORIC SITES

GOOD NEWS FOR COPPER COUNTRY HERITAGE SITES

24 Heritage Grants awarded

LOCAL NEWS

KURT HAUGLIE

Staff Writer

khauglie@mininggazette.com

• 
 
• 

Kurt Hauglie/Daily Mining Gazette The Keweenaw Heritage Center is one of the recipients for the most recent Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission Heritage Grant program. This cycle, 24 grants were awarded for a total of $150,148.

CALUMET — The Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission’s Heritage Grant program continues to be popular, and 24 grants were awarded this round, according to Scott See.

See, Advisory Commission executive director, said for this round of granting, 31 applications were received for a total request of more than $227,000. The 24 awards totaled $150,148.

The National Park Service through the KNHP began the Heritage Grant program in 2008, and See said the Advisory Commission began it’s granting program two years later. Now, although the NPS still contributes to the program as funds are available, the Advisory Commission runs the program and most of the money comes from the organization. This grant cycle, $135,148 came from the commission, and $15,000 came from the park service.

See said he continues to be impressed with the applications received for the grants.

“The quality of the apps was really good,” he said. “The request was more than we had available. We’ve offered, the last few years, $150,000, and we’ve always gotten requests for more than we were able to offer.”

The purpose of the Heritage Grant program is to provide financial support to businesses, and organizations, which are involved with telling the story of the copper-mining era. However, See said beginning for the current granting cycle, the program became limited to organizations only, because it’s thought that will provide a greater financial impact.

There are 21 Heritage Sites associated with the KNHP, and many of them usually apply for grants, including this cycle, See said.

“Our Heritage Sites were well represented within the recipients,” he said. “We realize there are other organizations out there other than the Heritage Sites that can use our help.”

This is the 10th year for the Heritage Grant program, and See said in that time 217 grants have been made for a total of $1,139, 697.

Since 2010, See said, the Advisory Commission has granted $862,471.

“Seven hundred thousand of that has come from our anonymous donor,” he said. “We’re indebted to that individual in helping make this program a reality.”

See said there is no plan at this time to end the Heritage Grant program.

“Our intention is to continue the program as long as we can find funding to do so,” he said.

http://www.mininggazette.com/news/local-news/2017/05/24-heritage-grants-awarded/

QUINCY MINE GRAFFITI

OUR FELLOW HERITAGE SITE, QUINCY MINE BUILDING  VANDALIZED

http://www.mininggazette.com/news/local-news/2017/05/graffiti-floor-damage-litter-at-quincy-dry-house-building/

Graffiti, floor damage, litter at Quincy dry house building

LOCAL NEWS

KURT HAUGLIE

Staff Writer

khauglie@mininggazette.com

• 
 
• 

Kurt Hauglie/Daily Mining Gazette Tom Wright, Quincy Mine Hoist Association facilities supervisor, looks over some of the trash and graffiti in the organization’s dry house building Thursday. The QMHA is supporting the plan by the Houghton City Council to construct a skate park at the east end of the city because skateboarders are suspected of doing the damage.

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP — For Tom Wright, the damage being done at the Quincy No. 8 shaft isn’t being done by bad people, just thoughtless people.

“These are not hoodlums,” he said. “They’re just kids.”

At the dry house on the property owned by the Quincy Mine Hoist Association off U.S. 41 north of the Quincy No. 2 shaft house, Wright said people have been using the flat concrete floor of the building for skateboarding.

Besides making piles of trash in the building, Wright said people have covered most of the walls of the building with graffiti, some of it sexually explicit.

“The graffiti seems to be increasing,” he said.

Although the QMMHA board and employees realize the people doing the damage in the building just want to have fun, Wright — who is the QMHA facilities supervisor — said the building is historic and needs to be protected.

“We need to treat it with respect,” he said.

Wright said the dry house was the place where miners changed their clothing after their shifts in the copper mine.

Besides the graffiti, Wright said it is possible one of the people using the building could get hurt. There is also the possibility of someone causing a fire, whether intentional or not.

The city of Houghton is planning on building a skate park at the waterfront park on the east end of the city. Wright said the QMHA is supporting the effort, which when finished should give skateboarders a safe and legal place to use their skateboards.

It is unknown exactly what will be done with the graffiti on the dry house walls, Wright said. It has to be determined if the paint can be removed without damaging the walls, or if it should just be painted over. There is graffiti scratched onto the walls by the miners, which is considered historic and should be saved.

There used to be a skateboarding course at the Dee Stadium, but Wright said when that closed, use of the dry house increased.

“That’s when we saw an uptick (at the dry house),” he said.

The QMHA board is hoping the public will become involved with the effort to protect the building, and getting the Houghton skate park built is one way to do that, Wright said.

“Quincy would prefer to work with the community,” he said.

Wright said the dry house could be put to use in the future.

“It’s a good, sturdy building,” he said. “Our interest is in preserving this.”

Quincy Smelter Association 

2017 Tour Schedule

The QSA has set the following dates for tours:

June 24^th, 2017

July 22rd, 2017

August 19^th, 2017

September 9th, 2017

October 7th, 2017

All tours are on Saturdays from 11 AM to 3 PM.

Tours start on the hour with the last tour beginning at 2 PM. Each tour lasts approximately an hour.

Since this is a former industrial site, we recommend wearing closed footware, not sandals, flip flops, etc.

Your experienced guide will lead you through the buildings and the grounds to ensure your safety.

We are an all volunteer organization. We give tours because we enjoy sharing the workings of the smelter and hope you will leave with a better understanding of a small part of America's industrial history.

We are able to provide group tours with advance notice.  

Questions: 906-369-3797

We hope to see you this summer in Houghton and Hancock in the beautiful Keweenaw.

Cost: $5.00 per person

Free to children under 10 with accompanying adult

Quincy Smelter Association (Section 501(c)(3) organization) has an agreement with the owner, Advisory Commission of the Keweenaw National Historical Park.  All proceeds from tours fund the Association's expenses and activities

Quincy Smelter Association Announces 
Its 2016 Tour Schedule

The QSA has set the following dates for tours:

June 25^th, 2016

July 23rd, 2016

August 6^th, 2016

September 10^th, 2016

October 1^st, 2016

All tours are on Saturdays from 11 AM to 3 PM.

Tours start on the hour with the last tour beginning at 2 PM. Each tour lasts approximately an hour.

Since this is a former industrial site, we recommend wearing closed footware, not sandals, flip flops, etc.

Your experienced guide will lead you through the buildings and the grounds to ensure your safety.

We are an all volunteer organization. We give tours because we enjoy sharing the workings of the smelter and hope you will leave with a better understanding of a small part of America's industrial history.

We are able to provide group tours with advance notice.  

Questions: 906-369-3797

We hope to see you this summer in Houghton and Hancock in the beautiful Keweenaw.

Cost: $5.00 per person

Free to children under 10 with accompanying adult

Quincy Smelter Association (Section 501(c)(3) organization) has an agreement with the owner, Advisory Commission of the Keweenaw National Historical Park.  All proceeds from tours fund the Association's expenses and activities

THE COAL DOCK COMES DOWN

By 1930 the nation was in the grips of the Great Depression.  The Quincy Smelter was operating, but slowly decreasing production as orders for copper went lower and the price of copper went below the cost of mining and smelting.  John Chynoweth had been superintendent of the Smelter for about 3 years.  Quincy Mining Company under the leadership of W. Parsons Todd had been struggling through the 1920s to keep the operation going.  Prices never recovered from the highs of World War I.  As a result maintenance costs were always an issue.  The notes from Mr. Chynoweth to W. Parsons Todd are from weekly letters sent to the New York office about Smelter activities.  From such entries one is able to piece together the history of Quincy Smelter.

Go to the URLs beneath the photos to get close ups of the coal dock prior to 1930. Click on the TIFF button for the highest resolution at the Library of Congress website.




Date Created/Published: c1906 
Coal dock on right

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994007114/PP/





VIEW OF QUINCY SMELTER TAKEN FROM ACROSS PORTAGE LAKE. C. 1905. - Quincy Mining Company, Hancock, Houghton County, MI
Coal dock in center next to covered over section
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/mi0086.photos.088984p/

WINTER VIEW OF QMC SMELTER (OPENED 1898) AS SEEN FROM HOUGHTON, ACROSS PORTAGE LAKE. C. 1900.

 Coal dock in front of farthest left chimney
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/hhh.mi0086.photos.088982p/

4-7-30

“As soon as conditions permit we think it advisable to finish dismantling the coal trestle and instead of using our small force on spare time,...better to employ enough men to clean up the job in two weeks and then the gradual filling in process can be made from screened ashes. ...convenient and a cost reducer to have the coal yard filled in level with the coal scales. ...stiff grade to the coal scales [now] and the water is two or three inches deep where the men are working.”

5-5-30

“Next week we will start dismantling the coal dock trestle.”

5-20-30

“The dismantling of the trestle is going along well, it looks now as if the job will be completed this week. in shape. ...aside from the bents ten percent of the total cannot be salvaged.”

5-26-30

“...finished dismantling the coal trestle and are now placing a track for filling in. the cost of dismantling is $267.00.”

6-2-30 (mistakenly 5-2-30)

“The track at the coal dock is now completed and the filling in has commenced. ...filling process...part of the daily operations which we hope will be completed by August.”

From Quincy Mining Company files, Michigan Technological University Archives

QUINCY SMELTER TOUR ON OCTOBER 10TH ENDS THE 2015 SEASON

Location: Hancock MI
Event: Quincy Smelter Tour
Date: October 10th, 2015

Time: 11 AM to 3 PM

$5/person, children under 10 free

Join us for the last tour of the season as we head into fall colors. Not only will you see a part of the Copper Country's industrial heritage. Look up and down the hills of Houghton and Hancock from the smelter's waterfront location. You'll see a breathtaking profusion of yellows and reds.

Directions: Turn right after crossing the bridge on to M-26, go 1/4 mile to the sign on the right.

 The smelter is a former industrial site.  Please wear closed shoes for safety reasons.  

The Quincy Smelter Association in partnership with the Advisory Commission of the KeweenawNational Historical Park is authorized to provide tours to the public.

LAST QUINCY SMELTER EVENING TOUR OF THE 2015 SEASON

Location: Hancock MI
Event: Quincy Smelter Tour

Date: October 9th, 2015

Time: 6 PM

$5/person, children under 10 free

The Quincy Smelter Association is once again holding its tours during MTU's Family Weekend. With the great popularity of these tours in the past, our Association is expanding them.  On Friday, October 9th, we will have a twilight tour at 6 PM as the setting sun shines down the valley of the Portage Canal separating Houghton and Hancock.  

The tour is open to everyone.  

Please join us for an exciting experience!

 

Directions: Turn right after crossing the bridge on to M-26, go 1/4 mile to the sign on the right.

THERE WILL BE TOURS ON SATURDAY,  OCTOBER 10TH.  PLEASE SEE OUR NEXT ANNOUNCEMENT.

The smelter is a former industrial site.  Please wear closed shoes for safety reasons.  

The Quincy Smelter Association in partnership with the Advisory Commission of the Keweenaw National Historical Park is authorized to provide tours to the public.

 

JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL TOUR DATE ON SEPTEMBER 26TH

Hancock, MI

September 26th, 2015

11:00 AM to 3:00 PM

$5/person, children under 10 free
 

We're just starting to see fall color here and there. An opportunity for enjoying the changing colors in the Portage Lake valley of Houghton and Hancock.

The Quincy Smelter Association hosts tours monthly so visitors such as yourself can see the only intact copper smelter from the American Industrial Revolution around the turn of the 20th Century.  See much of the original machinery used to turn ore into copper ingots.  Not only can you see the original equipment from the smelter's construction in 1898. But our guides will point out the major changes  in the Great Expansion of 1920.  We look forward to showing this and much more.

Since much of the tour is spent in the buildings, this is a great event especially on rainy days.

Bring your flashlights!

Directions: Turn right after crossing the bridge on to M-26, go 1/4 mile to the sign on the right.

The smelter is a former industrial site.  We recommend wearing closed shoes for your safety.

For a full listing of our tour dates for 2015, see http://quincysmelterassociation.blogspot.com/.

The Quincy Smelter Association is a non-profit organization authorized to give tours by the owner, Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission.

QUINCY SMELTER 2015 TOUR SCHEDULE

Quincy Smelter Association Announces 
Its 2015 Tour Schedule

The QSA has set the following dates for tours:

June 27^th, 2015

July 18^th, 2015

August 8^th, 2015

September 12^th, 2015

October 10^th, 2015

All tours are on Saturdays from 11 AM to 3 PM.

Tours start on the hour with the last tour beginning at 2 PM. Each tour lasts approximately an hour.

Since this is a former industrial site, we recommend wearing closed footware, not sandals, flip flops, etc.

Your experienced guide will lead you through the buildings and the grounds to ensure your safety.

We are an all volunteer organization. We give tours because we enjoy sharing the workings of the smelter and hope you will leave with a better understanding of a small part of America's industrial history.

We are able to provide group tours with advance notice.
Questions: 906-369-3797

NEW: Watch for our evening tours this year!

We hope to see you next summer in the beautiful Keweenaw valley in Houghton and Hancock.

Cost: $5.00 per person

Free to children under 10 with accompanying adult

Quincy Smelter Association (Section 501(c)(3) organization) has an agreement with the owner, Advisory Commission of the Keweenaw National Historical Park.  All proceeds from tours fund the Association's expenses and activities.

COPPER PRICES DROP THEN AND NOW

From the The Guardian (1-14-15)

"Amid a wider commodities sell-off the metal was down more than 8% at one point at $5,353.25 a tonne [2204.6 pounds] – a level last seen during the depths of the financial crisis in July 2009."

That's $2.42 a pound. 

With the current drop in prices of metals and energy products, we thought it would be interesting to look at another depression in copper prices in the 1920s.  

After World War I, the copper industry went into a depression because of oversupply from American and foreign mines.  Prices were around 12 to 15 cents per pound, dropping at one time to 8 cents.  Using 13 cents a pound in 1920, the price equivalent in 2013 terms is $1.45 a pound.  

This was an era in which America was building its electrical infrastructure with companies such as General Electric producing generating equipment for industry and cities.  Electric appliances were coming on to the market--refrigerators, toasters, vacuum cleaners--for the growing consumer market.  Automobiles required copper for electrical equipment and radiators as Henry Ford and his rapidly growing competitor, General Motors, built millions of cars each year.

Quincy Smelter was one of those producers of copper.  There was a massive expansion of smelter capacity starting in 1918-19 and completion in 1920-21 with anticipation of a growing market, not a depression. 

The Keweenaw was at a disadvantage with higher production costs than western mines where extraction was less expensive due to surface stripping of the landscape versus underground mining.  

Copper in the Keweenaw which the mining industry called the Lake District could fetch a premium because small amounts of silver in the copper ore  were thought to improve conductivity.  The amount of silver varied from 28 to 66 oz per ton.  The smelter itself differentiated between the different ores and slag materials, saying they would run charges (ore put in furnaces for melting) with or without silver.  It depended for what purpose the end product was to be used by a customer. In the 1920s the chemistry of smelting was only vaguely understood and much of the practice of smelting was based upon experience and some science.  

Even though the Keweenaw copper mining companies closed in 1968, the boom and bust cycle of the mining industry continues.  After this recession, we may see another cycle of copper mining in the Keweenaw.