Mandan Ghost Town
Jun 7, 2010 | Share this | Leave a comment
An old 35MM scan of one of the old miners houses at the ghost town, taken probably 10 years ago, don’t think it is still standing. cminer52 on Flickr
About 12 miles southwest of Copper Harbor is the old ghost town of Mandan, a tiny mining town that was vacated in 1909. It was the site of the Mandan Mine and the Medora Mine.
At the turn of the century Mandan had a few hundred residents with a few dozen houses. Today, only a few of the buildings remain. Over the years there was a post office and a general store and Mandan marked the end of the line for the Keweenaw Central Railroad.
And of course, Mandan Road is one of the most scenic drives in the Keweenaw to see the fall colors. A worthwhile loop to take.
“The mine evidently underwent considerable hardship as there were huge beds of sand that made it difficult to mine the four inch wide band of very rich copper.
It is assumed that the mine closed in 1866 and remained dormant until 1899 when the Mandan and Medora Companies were sold to the Keweenaw Copper Company and reorganized in 1905.”
Check out Exploring The North for more detailed information.
Mandan Ghost Town, off US-41
Thanks to Kimberly and David for bringing Mandan Ghost Town to my attention, it was a good topic to touch on that I didn’t know very much about. Feel free to leave additional comments if there are other topics you’d like covered or specific places you’d like to know more about.
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I’ve drove past Mandan for years on the way up to Copper Harbor and it’s always intrigued me. Of course, it’s always been in the winter with chest-deep snow to get through…so it’s limited me.
I’ve read that there are some houses that are now privately owned and are being updated in Mandan. Any idea if that’s still true? Don’t want to explore this summer if I’m going to be walking on other peoples’ land!
Absolutely true. 6 years ago I married into a family that used to have a camp out there (before my time). They now have camps on Lake Medora. I drove through Mandan last year with one of the inlaws and while most of the houses have disappeared, some are still used and others are being renovated.
I just got a new job in April that requires me to travel to the UP occasionally. The first time I went to the UP was just a few weeks ago and that was the first time I had heard of ghost towns in Michigan. I think that’s a really unique and interesting piece of Michigan history that more people need to know about!
Oh, and I’d love to win the Tom Izzo autographed shirt :)
Nonetheless, thanks for sharing this. I’d love to see more posts like this every now and then!
My grandparents live in Copper Harbor so we have made various trips to Mandan. It is truly a great sight to see and I recommend it, and a trip to Copper Harbor, to anyone!
I’m a proud MSU student and am so happy Izzo is staying!