Month: January 2025

Calumet once considered for Michigan Capitol? – Mythbusted

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An overview of the town of Calumet in the Keweenaw Peninsula.

This is a bird’s eye view of Calumet during its heyday.

A Capitol Decision

During the Year, I make quite a few personal appearances at events. I enjoy talking to people and I’m often asked historical questions. Over the years many erroneous stories about the Upper Peninsula have circulated and somehow stuck becoming U.P. myths. One of these stories I hear frequently, is that Calumet was once considered for Michigan’s Capitol. It was not.

In 1847, when the capitol was designated in Lansing, the village that would become Calumet, Red Jacket, didn’t exist yet. The capitol was moved from Detroit because of a fear of military capture. Detroit, the current capitol, was taken by the British in the war of 1812. Some feared it could happen again.

Since Detroit laid on the border of Canada, it was decided that maybe a more central location in the state was advisable. Also growing settlements on the west side of Michigan was pushing for a closer location. Candidates were Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Marshall, and Jackson. Lansing was picked because it was central to all of them, the Lansing area was nearly uninhabited at the time. So was the Upper Peninsula except for the Native Americans.

Calumet Wasn’t Born Yet

An unknown couple from the early days of Red Jacket/ Calumet.

A couple from Red Jacket taken in the late 1800s.

Mineral rights were achieved in the U.P. with a treaty in 1843 with central and western Upper Peninsula Native Americans for mineral rights within those regions. This heralded the beginning of the copper boom.

Founded on the rising tide of copper mining, the city that would become Calumet, Red Jacket, became officially a town in 1864, almost 20 years after the capitol was chosen. It’s twin city Laurium, was originally called Calumet. Confusing I know. It became Laurium in 1895, and Red Jacket became Calumet in 1929. Though copper was being unearthed in the Keweenaw, its production was hindered until 1855 when the Soo Locks were opened. Settlements across the peninsula were few and far between until the 1850s. Again, all taking place after the capitol was moved to Lansing. At that time Calumet was but a glimmer in history’s eye.

For more information on Historical Calumet:

Walk in Big Annie’s Footsteps: A Historic Tour of Calumet, MI

A picture of an early copper mining operation in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

An early engraving of copper mining’s beginnings in the Keweenaw.

Icy Ordeal of the Alexander McDougall – Lake Superior

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A storm on Lake Superior covered this ship in ice trapping the crew inside.

The Alex McDougall whaleback ship encased in ice with the crew frozen inside.

A whaleback ship is an early ore freighter that sailed throughout the Great Lakes. The one pictured, the Alexander McDougall, is shown docked at Sault Ste. Marie, MI after a terrifying ordeal. It was the largest whaleback built in 1898 and was 418 feet long.  The ship was lost for three days sailing through a brutal Lake Superior storm.

When docked at the Soo, she was coated with 20 inches of ice and axes were used to free the captain and the wheelsman from the pilot house. They had remained at their stations unwavering during the storm. The dining room and stateroom were at the rear of the ship and the ice coating and the heavy rolling seas made it impossible to reach. Over time they became prisoners of the ice. During the three days the captain and the wheelman had no sleep or food. It was a miracle they made it with all credit going to the captain and his wheelman for saving the ship, cargo, and crew.

For more information: Click here.