Harbors

130 or so years ago this was a dock, shipping iron ingots down the Great Lakes. Snail Shell Harbor, Fayette State Park, Michigan.

Fayette State Park again. The Superintendent's House ("The White House") is on the hill to the left, where the boss can oversee the blast furnaces, which are just to my right. Snail Shell had everything Jackson Mining was looking for: A deep water harbor, large nearby woods for fueling the blast furnace, and (very) nearby limestone to use for flux in the blast operation. Not to mention, of course, a convenient rail connection to bring Jackson Mine's ore to the furnace. Fayette lives on, well over a century after the last blast, partly because of the ruined buildings, and partly because the location's just beautiful.

One last look--for now--at the abandoned iron processing town at Fayette State Park at the northern end of Lake Michigan. This harbor was once a loud and busy place on the edge of a wilderness, but that stopped over a century ago. It's survived, mostly as a tourist attraction, largely because of its beauty, and its interesting history.