Lake Superior Iron Works (Ripley, Mich.)

Samuel F. Hodge came to Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula in 1869 or 1870, according to varying accounts. He established the Lake Superior Iron Works in Ripley, Michigan, soon after his arrival. It was the second foundry in the area and catered primarily to the three stamp mills in the vicinity, the Quincy Mill, the Pewabic Mill, and the Franklin Mill, all located in Ripley. The foundry works were located between the Pewabic and Quincy mills along the industrial waterfront, near Hancock, Michigan. Charles J. Hodge carried on the business after his father's death. The Portage Lake Foundry & Machinery Company bought out the Hodge Iron Foundry in approximately 1904 and began advertising chilled stamp shoes as one of its own products thereafter.