Red Metal Fever in the Copper Country

Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula is often referred to as Copper Country. Its rich copper deposits were collected from the surface and mined by Native Americans as early as 7,000 year ago. Native peoples extracted copper from shallow pits and used stones to separate copper from other rock material, becoming among the first metal workers in North America. Archaeologists have recovered copper bracelets, beads, fishhooks, and a variety of tools representing their metal working abilities. These copper objects were also traded in an extensive trading network that spanned North America. The Ojibwa people introduced European settlers to copper in the 1700's.

KEWE 14586: C & H copper ingot sample

However, early mining by settlers was unsuccessful due to a lack of organized labor, laborers, and community development. With the influx of investors and immigrants between the 1800s and 1840s, Keweenaw copper mining flourished and led to copper fever. Among the most prominent mining companies were the Quincy Mining Company, formed in 1846, and the Calumet and Hecla companies, which formed in the mid-1860s and merged in 1871. This new merger assumed a prominent role in Copper Country under Alexander Agassiz.

KEWE 178: Alexander Agassiz (foreground) and Quincy Shaw

Alexander Agassiz was the son of Louis Agassiz, the founder of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. Louis Agassiz was notorious for his opposition to Darwin and his strong belief in racial hierarchies. His racial beliefs influenced Alexander Agassiz’s management strategy while he served as president of Calumet & Hecla Copper Mining Company from 1867 to 1910. In particular, a person’s nationality was used to determine what positions they were allotted in the mining process and company.


Alexander Agassiz brought a stricter order to the mining operations and increased profits. He also initiated a program of corporate paternalism unmatched  at the time in United States industry. He understood that the mines needed workers, and the workers needed a sense of community. Consequently, he initiated the acquirement and development of housing, commercial facilities, schools, a public library, and the Calumet and Hecla Hospital. He also provided land for local churches.


The downside to this corporate paternalism was the companies owned almost everything necessary for the livelihood of miners and their families. As a result of this ownership, the companies exercised not only economic control, but to some extent social, political, and intellectual control over the lives of miners and their families. For instance, Agassiz determined which books stocked the shelves of the public library. Thus, he controlled, in part, access to knowledge and the scope of knowledge available to the Calumet community. Moreover, at any moment a family could be forced to leave their home. This was especially true for strikers.

KEWE 327: Prosthetic Leg

Striking had occurred in the west, but the Keweenaw remained relatively quiet until the late 19th century. Even with the technological advances in the last half of the 19th century, mining still remained one of the most dangerous professions for miners who worked underground. A strike in 1893 ensued to bring attention to these dangerous conditions, but was crushed immediately by Agassiz and the county sheriff. Agassiz refused to negotiate and the strikers were fired. Two years later a fire in one of Calumet & Hecla’s mines killed 30 men and boys. Miners were in danger daily from cave-ins, explosions, and other dangerous conditions. Loss of life or limb was common and many miners who survived accidents were not able to return to work due to their injuries.


Unsafe working conditions, long hours, low pay, and the one-man drill eventually led to Michigan's 1913-1914 Copper Country Strike. The Western Federation of Miners provided strikers with financial support and brought public attention to their cause. Tension and violent assaults on miners continued to grow as the strike progressed. On Christmas Eve 1913 hundreds of miners’ families gathered on the second floor of the Italian Hall to celebrate and distribute gifts to children. This event turned from a joyous occasion to one of the most tragic in Copper Country history. At some point during the event a false fire alarm was shouted and both children and adults rushed down the steep stairway to exit the building. Many fell and were suffocated by the weight of others on top of them. Seventy-four people died, including 60 children. No one was ever prosecuted for the false fire alarm. This event crushed the spirits of many miners, but they continued with the strike until April 1914 when the federation ran out of money and strikers were advised to return to their jobs under the conditions of the companies.

KEWE 14842: Gun issued during 1913 Strike

KEWE 15296: Stair from Italian Hall

Mining in Michigan’s Copper Country advanced deep shaft, hard rock mining as well as milling and smelting techniques. These technological advancements influenced copper mining on an international scale. However, as copper mined in the west became the primary source of copper in the United States, the demand for Keweenaw copper declined and the copper industry waned. Calumet & Hecla closed in 1968 and the last copper mine in the Keweenaw, White Pine Mine, closed in 1997.


The Keweenaw National Historical Park preserves the history of copper mining and its impact on community development in the Keweenaw Peninsula. This history is also very much alive in the stories of community members. Explore the park page and their collections to learn more about the history of Michigan’s Copper Country.

References:

https://www.nps.gov/kewe/index.htm
https://www.nps.gov/kewe/learn/photosmultimedia/studying-history.htm
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/agassiz.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmyqW4YR15E