Fisher, Nancy L.

"As some of the oldest homes in the Keweenaw - dating from the Civil War era - Quincy [Mining Company's] company houses along US-41 (Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan) have important stories to tell about life in a mining town. Company housing has been called the single most important element of corporate paternalism in the Copper Country. As early as the 1850s, Quincy's managers felt that a stable and loyal workforce was vital to the company's success, and so built many single-family dwellings to attract family men and keep them on its payroll. By 1914, the company owned 443 rental homes and provided 202 lease lots, on which workers built their own houses. Nestled in neighborhoods around the mine site, the homes became integral features of a unique mining landscape. Today, they offer the opportunity to remember the thousands of people who came here in search of a better life - one of the most fundamental themes in our nation's history" (excerpted from http://www.nps.gov/kewe/parknews/stabilizing-quincy-houses.htm, accessed 10/28/2009)