Mine Towns: Buildings for Worker's in Michigan's Copper Country

Anyone who has visited Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula has probably seen buildings left over from the copper industry, which peaked around the turn of the twentieth century.  The Quincy Mine Hoist, for example, is part of the skyline above the city of Hancock, and The Calumet Theater, built in 1898, still hosts live theatrical performances. 

 

While this book talks about such famous structures, it digs much deeper into the Keweenaw’s social history by examining other, perhaps more prosaic buildings that nevertheless meant a great deal to workers:  churches, bathhouses, libraries, schools and, most significantly, individual houses.  Many of the miners lived in rented homes built and owned by the mining companies, and the author looks at how such issues as ethnicity, class, and gender were negotiated in an atmosphere of overwhelming corporate paternalism.

 

Interesting for those who like labor and industrial history, or for anyone who feels a connection to Michigan’s Copper Country.