September 29, 2010

We need to preface today’s entry with a brief bit of humor…towns having a public library operating within, and as a part of, a public school will shut you down right now! Since the Comfort Inn was experiencing problems with their WiFi, we decided to use the “public” library for internet service. After we finally were able to enter their system, the doors slammed shut (ACCESS DENIED!!) on every operation we tried…no access to banking, none to any blog site, and certainly none to email. The librarian said it was a real trick to keep the kids “honest”! Great for keeping the kids out of icky stuff, but not good for us! We thanked the librarian and decided to try one other option…looking for an unsecure site in the downtown area of Manistique. The strongest signal was received from Marley’s Bar, which we did not want to enter at 10:00AM…a bit too early to be tossing one back! Our only hope was that the Comfort Inn would be up and running upon our return from the day’s outing, and so here we go…

There was only one attraction on our itinerary today. The Fayette Historic Townsite, founded in 1867, was the home of Jackson Iron Company for 24 years. It was one of the UP’s most productive iron-smelting operations.

At the town’s peak, there were 500 residents and the smelting operation produced 229,288 tons of iron during the 24 years it operated. The site had two furnaces that stood side by side and over 900 feet of docks in Snail Shell Harbor.

The town was constructed on this site in order for it to be close to the limestone (now cliffs along the water) and large amounts of hardwood, both necessary to process the iron ore into pig iron.

There are 19 buildings remaining from the town. These include the blast furnaces, hotel, machine shop, company store, company office, town hall,

doctor’s home, superintendent’s home, several middle class homes, a kiln (originally there were eight),

and a newly reconstructed laborer’s cabin. The site is a true work in progress. Those buildings that are open allow a self-guided tour. There are informative plaques, and areas enclosed by Plexiglas shields displaying furnishings, and building construction. Interactive devices also provide additional documentation. Life for most people in this town was dirty, filthy, and dangerous. The one saving grace was the schoolhouse was built far from all the noise and dirt. It was a brief haven for the children who were allowed to attend school.

When we left the Townsite we drove to Fairport, a still operating fishing village. The photo is of part of the fishing fleet that operates from the Fairport Harbor.

Tomorrow we will be crossing back into the lower part of Michigan. This means another trip across the Mackinac Bridge.