Three House Town
I remember the hidden town of Gratiot along US41 very well. Every time I drove north I would notice a small line of three or so houses sitting far back from the road across an open field. Once I even drove up that road marked “Gratiot Loc” and checked those houses out for myself. They appeared abandoned, yet the kids tricycle on the overgrown lawn, and the faded coke cans on the stoop seemed to suggest otherwise. I found the place a little odd and spooky and left rather hastily – never finding the mine itself.
When we returned to the town of Gratiot a good six years later, that tricycle, those faded coke cans, and the houses themselves were long gone. When they were torn down I don’t remember, but nothing but dirt and grass remained. We almost left empty handed, until we notice something down an old railroad line that we crossed. It appeared to be a concrete bridge or tunnel down the line through a tunnel of trees. Curious, we turn the car down the line and slowly approached the structure.
As we left the narrow trail we found ourselves coming out to an open field. Ahead of us, the tunnel or bridge was in fact the concrete ruin of a rock house – still straddling the rail line that once served it. Behind it, towering high above the trees was a large poor rock pile. We
had found a mine all right, we had found the Gratiot Mine.
I had gone out to Gratiot Location with a couple of friends a couple of years ago (I think it was the fall of 2005), right when they were in the middle of tearing down the houses. We went in the houses and took pictures of them, since we knew they would be demolished soon. The next week we went back and sure enough, the houses were gone and the ground was completely level, just as if there had been nothing there! Back behind the houses there were piles of bottles, mostly from booze, and other random pieces of junk, such as TV tubes and vacuum cleaners.
Jacob Noll | April 5, 2008
I remember reading in the Mining Gazette that people were using that area for a garbage dump, seems some people are to cheap to dispose of their garbage properly. Its really sad, I believe it was the land owner, one of the large Forest products companies paid to clean it all up. For some reason, I almost thought there was some hazardous material dumped.
Gordy Schmitt | April 5, 2008
Jacob-
I remember when those houses were up as well, but no one was living in them then. We probably cross paths and didn’t even know it! By the way, you still got those photos you should send them my way, I’ll post them in a Copper Country Scrapbook. I think everyone would love to see them!
Gordy -
I read that same article, and most of that junk has been covered with dirt or removed. There is still a great deal of broken glass and metal scattered about the site however. I was sure I was going to pop a tire going in there.
explorer | April 7, 2008
Heres a link to Pasty.com’s Guest Gallery of those houses at Gratiot.
http://betag.pasty.com/thumbnails.php?album=864&page=1
Gordy Schmitt | October 12, 2008