Fort Wilkins in AM, McLain in PMSep 27, 2009
|
|
one of the entrances to the mine at Ft Wilkins
married soldiers lived just outside the fort, next to the livestock!
officers lived in that corner
Fort Wilkins was built in 1844 at the end of the peninsula in anticipation of lawlessness in this area where copper was just discovered and a rush was on to get rich by people of different nations and of different languages and cultures. Copper was present at the Fort and a company came in to mine it. The mine only produced 40 tons before the vein ran out at 125 feet deep, though. Archeologists found some of the holes for the mine, so they were dug out and maintained so we could see them. Creepy to think people went into the earth with candles on their hats to use sledge hammers and gunpowder to produce rocks that were raised to the surface.
There was no unrest in the towns and the towns didn’t need protection from the Indians, so the fort saw no battles. The soldiers hated life here as it was boring. They gambled and drank when off duty, but jailed when they were caught! The jail cells were dark with no bed and when they were let out of the cell, they had to perform hard labor. Lucky for them they all left the fort in only 2 years because they were needed elsewhere. Soldiers came back after the Civil War until their term was over but the fort was empty again by 1870. A video said that some of the buildings were used as cabins for tourists, but none of the literature states that. Civilians did visit though when the army wasn’t there, as evidenced by findings on the grounds and in the cellars of the houses that were still standing.
Michigan got the property in 1923 and the fort was restored largely through the work of the Work Project Administration of the 1930s. There are two photo albums to show us actual pictures taken long ago and pictures taken in 1999 when it was opened to the public. I thought I was going to spend half an hour here at most, but it was better than I thought it would be!
McLain SP
By noon, I was on my way to stay at McLain State Park for a few days. A big rainstorm is expected with very cool temperatures and I wanted to stay nearer to civilization and protected from the wind, so I moved to Calumet, about 35 miles south. Part of the park is on the shores of Lake Superior, so I can still go see the waves and the rocks with a short walk or bike ride. I learned that 30 years ago, there were more campsites on the north side of the road, but erosion has taken away everything up to the road – in fact they had to reroute the road a bit further south in one section! They may move the whole campground further inland soon!
