Isle Royale Copper Company

Following unsuccessful attempts at mining in Copper Harbor and on the island of Isle Royale, the Isle Royale Mining Company relocated south of Houghton in 1852. It was one of many small mines working the "South Portage Range," including the Portage, Dodge, and Huron mines. Some of these companies also developed communities around their mines, including the present towns of Dodgeville and Hurontown. By 1909, the properties were consolidated into the Isle Royale Copper Company, a subsidiary of the famed Calumet & Hecla Company. Calumet & Hecla operated the properties profitably for many decades and built a short line railroad to carry copper ore to a stamp mill near the mouth of the Pilgrim River. Remnants of this mill include extensive deposits of stamp sands. The mining properties continued in operation by C & H until 1946, with some later work attempted by the Copper Range Company.