The Union Mine site in 1889 on the eastern part of the Porcupine Mountains in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Union Mine, rare historical photo – Silver City, Michigan

I recently came across a rare stereoview card with the picture above on it. I hadn’t seen a picture of the Union Mine before. As a frequent visitor to the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, it is hard to ignore the “Union” name  as one drives into the park. Union Bay, Union Springs, Union River and Union Mine. All crop up near the entrance to the Porkies.

Because the Union Mine only operated for a very few years, images of it are few and far between. The stereoview also came with an inscription on the back. “Union Mine (deserted), Lake Superior. On Porcupine Mountain, 20 miles west of Ontonagon, Michigan, 1889.  Mother and I and Mr. & Mrs. James E. Crooker camped here for several days. Had a fine time. H.C.K.” (No idea who H.C.K. is.)

In the mid 1840s, the copper rush began and the Union Mine was one of the earliest.  It began in 1846 and lasted a little over a year. Run by the Union Copper Country, they went hard until the next year. In 1847 copper prices dropped and the Union Mine was deemed unprofitable. There were reports that some amount of silver was mined too. Silver was found along with the copper in several of the mines around Ontonagon. It is how Silver City got its name.

The Union Mine remained a hole in the ground until the 1860s and the Civil War. It was then reopened and reclosed with the end of the war, copper prices dropping again forcing the mine to shut down.

In 1908 the Union mine was opened up for exploration by the Calumet Hecla mining Company but it was determined again to be unprofitable to open. It was never again mined. Though it didn’t operate for long, its memory remains hearkening back to days of wilderness and exploration.

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