Copper mining has had a huge impact on Michigan throughout history. Copper mining has had such an impact that the Upper Peninsula of Michigan has a region referred to as “The Copper Country” because of its involvement in the copper-mining industry. The copper-mining industry has also led to technological developments necessary for hoisting and drilling as well as the development of towns and cities in the Keweenaw. In addition, it led to the creation of many potential jobs for residents of the towns that were developed to support these mines.
One of the first attempts to locate and mine this copper was back in 1771 when the first mining expedition was organized. English miners were sent to the New World to locate and mine the copper heard of in Indian tales that had been passed along by the French. These miners had begun their excavation in a clay bank where they had previously seen trickling green copper-containing water with pieces floating in the water nearby. Unfortunately, the frozen roof of the tunnel had thawed and lead to a cave in resulting in the first failed attempt at mining copper in Michigan.
Douglass Houghton had surveyed the Keweenaw’s copper deposits in 1840 and had reported them to the state legislature. These reports sparked interest in mining these deposits in 1841. In 1843, the treaty of LaPointe was signed with the Chippewa which resulted in a mineral land office being opened in Copper Harbor. Investors and prospectors in Copper Harbor began leasing this newly obtained land near Lake Superior for mining expeditions. This led to issuances of permits that would be required for mining operations. Unfortunately, these permits could not be bought nearby. Sault Ste. Marie was the closest place where permits cou...
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...f towns and cities that still exist today. In addition, the opening of mines created jobs which had a positive impact on the economy while the decline of mines led to a sharp decrease in population due to the lack of job opportunities. The era of copper mining also shows the powerful alliance that had formed between Michigan and Boston. Both Michigan mine operators and Boston investors had different kinds of resources that the other lacked. It can be seen that Michigan would not be the way it is today without outside influence from investors and interested prospectors.
Works Cited
William B. Gates, Michigan Copper and Boston Dollars (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1951), 1.
J. Robert Van Pelt, “Boston and Keweenaw: An Etching in Copper,” American Scientist (1949): 220-221
Larry Lankton, Hollowed Ground (Detroit: Wayne University Press, 2010), 11-13.
In 1855, miners discovered Gold in the Colville mines of northeastern Washington Territory. Newspapers such as the Oregonian began running daily advertisements to attract miners into the region. Exciting articles with bold titles of “Colville Gold Mines” exclaimed that, “with a common pan we made $6, $8, $10, and as high as $20 per man!” This news created an influx of white settlement to Washington. Territorial Governor, Isaac I. Stevens encouraged the settlement and proposed to consolidate fourteen tribes w...
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Smith-Baranzini, Marlene, Richard J. Orsi, and James J. Rawls. A Golden State: Mining And Economic Development In Gold Rush California. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1999. eBook (EBSCOhost). Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
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But despite Pittsburgh’s growth in population many of its residents started to become concerned about their hometown and its future. These Pittsburgh natives were concerned for reasons such as; the arrival of railroads wiping out the main source of trade, a change in the social relation of the city due to a rise in manufacturing, and the competition in the iron industry.
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The crucial element that this period needed for industrial growth was STEEL. We needed steel and lots of it. Steel for longer bridges (Brooklyn), steel for skyscrapers, steel for better railroads, steel for better plows, steel for heavier machinery, steel for faster ships,
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The natural-resource frontier in the West and in the Great Plains offered a variety of resources, especially gold, oil, wood, and water. The Western terrain held many minerals and metals such as gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, tin, and quartz. Prospectors who found metal, would sell their claims to mining organizations, such as the Anaconda Copper Company. The mining was needed to help build telephone and power wires, light bulbs, and to make steel for the steel industry. During the mid-1800s, "The mining frontier advanced rapidly, drawing thousands of people to Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Colorado. California, where a gold rush helped populate a thriving state by 1850, furnished many of the miners, who traveled to nearby states in
Humans incessant need to search for gold has been around since the beginning of time. Gold is a precious medal that humans treasure, in which it never tarnishes, nor rusts; there is something about it that makes people look for it ruthlessly and endlessly till the end of time. One of the times in history, in which people have flocked from all corners of the world to a small corner of remote north western Canada, is the Klondike Gold Rush. The Klondike Gold Rush was a large migration of well over 10 000 people, to the Klondike region of the Yukon to prospect for gold. Nevertheless, the question still remains; who discovered the first cold to begin the Klondike Gold Rush? There are 2 main possible contenders in this mystery, including George Carmack, an American Miner, and Skookum Jim, A Canadian First Nations, along with three other minor characters. There are many theories as to what happened