Smithwick Mine - Isle Royale, MI
Posted by: 
m&m O
N 48° 08.837 W 088° 28.982
16U E 389688 N 5333733
This location is the opening to a copper mine on Isle Royal island in Lake Superior.
Waymark Code: WM142KF
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 04/02/2021
Views: 3
Here Waymarkers will find two openings that are most of what is left of the Smithwick Mine, started in July 1843 and worked until mid-1849. Ask at the Visitor Center about the no cost tour the Park Rangers leads. Our guide was informative and funny.
Near by signage reads;
"Smithwick Mine
Blast and dig, blast and dig - hard work at a
simple porocess describes life at Isle Royale Copper
mines. You are surrounded here by the remains
of Smithwick Mine, one of Isle Royale's oldest
historic mines.
Mining on Isle Royale began in earnest in 1843
after the Chippewa Indians relinquished claim
to the island. Soon more that 20 companies had
staked claims of Isle Royale. In July 1843,
James Smithwick located a mine here.
For two years, from mid-1847 to mid-1849, agent
Cornelius G. Shaw and a small crew of miners
worked Smithwick's mine. They dug four shafts
and built a blacksmith shop, root cellar, and
several dwellings. The main shaft (the timber-
lined pit to your left) reached 96 feet deep. The
upper 30 feet produced some copper, but lower
down the vein "pinched out," prompting Shaw
to abandon mining here."
The four stars I rated this site took into consideration the Ranger's tour.
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Visit Instructions:
• Include a photo of the Artificial Cave if possible.
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