Don’t use while listing – only as an area info tag
Big Bay
Big Bay was founded as a company-built sawmill town, tucked between the Huron Mountains and Lake Superior. In 1943 after a brief recession the mill was bought and reopened by Henry Ford. Like many other of Henry Ford’s model towns it was pretty but unprofitable and soon closed. Big Bay is neighbored by the Huron Mountain Club, a vast fenced off fishing and hunting retreat and wilderness area owned by extremely wealthy families, most of whom made their money in the 19th century, including the Ford family.
Big Bay is most famously known as the location of the Robert Traver book “Anatomy of a Murder” which was also made into a movie directed by Otto Preminger and starring Jimmy Stewart and Lee Remick.
Big Bay is also the western trailhead of the Hiawatha Water Trail, and near unusual Jacobsville sandstone formations under the waters of Lake Superior that rise up to become cliffs.
Michigamme
Located on the shores of Lake Michigamme, Michigamme draws visitors into what is now a quaint mining town with proximity to the Craig Lake State Park and Van Riper State Park. When first settled Michigamme served as a hub between several mines operating in the area. The Michigamee Mine, located just northeast of the village on Mt. Shasta, produced almost a million tons of iron ore before it shut down in 1900. Henry Ford started another boom in the 1920s when he opened the Imperial Mine one mile to the west of Michigamme, in a place still called Imperial Heights. Like many of his Upper Peninsula locations, it was never a money-maker. It closed in the 1930s.
Michigamme Links
Negaunee
Neqaunee was founded by The Jackson Iron Company in 1846. Today Negaunee is a safe, friendly community that is home to the Michigan Iron Industry Museum, the historic Vista Theatre, and the Negaunee Historical Museum.
Due to the large population of miners and mine managers the village is both plain and stately. The village celebrates its heritage with the mid winter Heikki Lunta Winterfest and the mid-summer Pioneer Days.
