The Keweenaw Peninsula, which juts out from the mainland of Upper Michigan into the waters of Lake Superior, is the historical site of one of the world’s great mining regions. Prehistoric mining of copper here began about 4,000 years ago, but the era of modern industrial mining was lasted from the 1840’s until the 1960’s. In the last half of the 19^th Century, the communities and mining camps of the Michigan Copper country filled with thousands upon thousands of European and Canadian immigrants seeking jobs and better lives. Because of the wealth being extracted from the mines, this northern frontier region rapidly became modernized, with light rail service, paved streets, electricity, telephones, public schools, libraries, and hospitals.

Although mine work was hard and dangerous, the community life that developed around the mines was a colorful, vibrant, and musical mix of various ethnic cultures and mainstream American life. Although this production focuses on Calumet (Red Jacket), it reflects much of what might have been experienced in any of the Copper Country towns from Rockland and Mass City to Copper Harbor in the early years of the 20^th
Century.

Let your ears take a walk through the Copper Country, circa 1909.