ATLANTIC MINE
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ATLANTIC MINE |
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NAME: Atlantic Mine COUNTY: Houghton ROADS: 2WD GRID: 1 CLIMATE: Pleasantly warm during summer time, though Michigan receives much snowfall during the winter months. BEST TIME TO VISIT: I suggest visiting during August/September when th |
COMMENTS:
The Atlantic Mine is home to at least 80-odd residents (as of 2003). There are newer homes built around the older ones in town. But those historic structures that stand today include St. Mary’s Hall – built around 1885, the original post office and fire hall, and some foundations from Atlantic Mine’s boom days. Also, I recall seeing one of the two original Churches from Atlantic Mine’s early years.Atlantic Mine is lucky to be situated besides a beautiful, sloping valley. The scenery is wonderful, and Atlantic Mine is a splendid Ghost! REMAINS: Many original structures remain at Atlantic Mine. |
| Settled in 1865, and not to be confused with Atlantic, Atlantic Mine’s name doesn’t say it all. More often than not described as a “post office and mining village [consisting of] chiefly miners”, between 1865 and 1893, the population of Atlantic Mine was scraping 1,600, and Thomas H. Terrill was the town’s first Post Master.Rested on the Copper Range Railroad, 3 & ½ miles south of Houghton, Atlantic Mine was home to two churches, Methodist and Catholic, the stamping and hoisting works of the Atlantic Copper Mining Co., a saloon or two, a school, blacksmith, shoemaker, physician, opera house, an undertaker and also a butcher.Life was generally good in and around Atlantic Mine. That is until the mine ceased operations in the earlier half of the 20th century. In 1927, still booming I presume, the population of the village was 1, 860. But by 1940, the population had plummeted to 1,100.Though this was the common occurrence across the US, the mine let the village down. This was simply a “moderately profitable mine, that paid out less than $1 Million in dividends”. Unfortunately, the community of Atlantic Mine has been in a slump for decades now. There is now no turning back for this former mining boomtown. It’s population will undoubtedly - “hang-on” ‘till the end. Submitted by: Ryan J. Hill |
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