Inspiration

I made my first trip into Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula around 1975. I was immediately struck by the incredibly rich history of the area. While today, many of the remnants of the copper boom remain and are finally being preserved as part of the Keweenaw National Park,there was much more to be seen in the 1970's that has since been demolished. One place that really struck my fancy was the Quincy Smelter, which is located in Ripley on the north ban of the Portage Ship Canal.

The smelter as it appeared from Houghton, across the Portage River

The smelter in the first decade of the twentieth century