When in the Keweenaw Peninsula, a copper mine tour is a must. After all, "this is Copper Country!"
These signs were actually posted in Copper Harbor (north of Hancock where the Quincy Mine is located) but here they are just for some background info...
walking down to the Quincy Mine tour
At the bottom of the tracks of the cog railway. This leads down to the entrance of the mine. The descent to the base of the mine is so steep that this was specially built with cogs (or teeth) because ordinary brakes wouldn't be able to hold the car. This little railcar took us down to the 7th level of the mine. All the lower levels are inaccessible because they have filled with ground water since the mine closed in 1945.
wearing the requisite hard hats in the mine
A map of the shafts going down into the mine. It's much more extensive than I realized.
A ventilation shaft
This classroom is still in use by Michigan Tech. It's inside the mine! Notice the large screen tv and musty-looking chairs. It's cold in this section of the mine - the tour loans out coats to visitors!
A team of 3 drillers with hammers and chisels would drill holes in the rock then place dynamite in the little holes and light the dynamite. The workers were paid by the amount of rock cleared after the dynamite did its stuff.
A new technology made the miners' work more efficient, but it was risky. This tool was nicknamed "the widow maker" because it was so dangerous. The drill was used to chisel rock above the workers' heads. So if you didn't get the angle right...
some old hard hats - one with a flame thingy for a light
later models with little lanterns attached
Lydia standing near the world's largest steam hoist. The hoist raised and lowered the miners and pulled the copper ore to the surface.
That white building on the hill is all that's visible of the mine from above ground, and that's where the steam hoist is housed. Below ground is a village of tunnels.
It was a cold drizzly day when we took the tour. It was easy to imagine the men working in those mines, cold... eating their pasties... hoping not to die..........
