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For the Gazette
On one of my weekend exploratory trips I went to Calumet, Michigan, 15 miles north of Hancock. The town was a historical treasure. I learned that in its zenith, at the turn of the century, it was a thriving town surrounded by copper mines. At its height there was even some talk in the Michigan legislature to make Calumet the State Capital.
The mines were owned by big money interests from the Boston area. From 1907-1968 daily passenger trains connected the town to the rest of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. In fact, one could get on the “Sleeper” in Chicago in the early evening and arrive in Calumet the next morning. European Immigrants poured into the area seeking and finding work in the copper mines. Calumet was settled in 1864. Its original name was “Red Jacket” named for a Native American Chief of the Seneca tribe.