Drifts and Shafts
In the Cliff’s infancy almost all the ground was opened up through a series of drifts that had been driven into the hillside. At the time it was believed that the copper was incased in the soaring cliffs themselves, and the copper-rich ground that the drifts were encountering were just validating that claim. However, as the drifts were driven deeper into the hillside the great copper fortunes quickly faded. The copper was not in the soaring ridge-line after-all, but instead was in fact under them.
It was then that the mine began sinking a series of shafts to reach this massive copper deposit. A total of four were sunk, two along the cliff’s base and two more up on its summit. We have seen the remains of the top two shafts before, the No. 3 sits right up along the cliff’s edge while the No. 4 sits back a ways in the forest and is now covered by poor rock. Today we try to find the No. 2, otherwise known as the Avery Shaft.
Coming down from the hoist and boiler house ruins we quickly found ourselves finding yet another ruin in the woods. This one was a large pedestal, but unlike anything else we found thus far at Cliff - this was made of concrete. The use of concrete was perplexing, since it dates this foundation to near the turn of the century and definitely not around 1850-1870. It also wasn’t a isolated case, as sitting right next to it was a second one.
This second pedestal provided more clues to its original use, as sprouting from its flat top was a collection of threaded iron bolts. These bolts meant a piece of machinery was attached to the top of this. But what type of machinery? Due to the placement of these pedestals right smack dab between the hoist and shaft we first thought they supported rock crushers and that we had stumbled across the ruins of the rock house. Then we though perhaps air compressors, but weren’t sure if air drills were ever used at the cliff. But then there’s the concrete construction - which makes whatever was mounted here a very late addition. In the end we just didn’t know and moved on.
Moving back towards where we though the Avery shaft must be we first came across this rock foundation, sitting up against the hillside. Interesting about this was the seemingly curved wall here in the center. More interesting was the ice-lined hole in the wall behind it (the dark spot to the right in the photo). Getting up close to it was could definitely pick up a strong musty damp smell - which might indicate this to be an adit entrance. But it had collapsed (or been filled) to the point where only a small hole remained. Looking down the hole we could only see blackness, so we couldn’t tell how deep it went. It might of been just a hole for all we know.
Further up the hill - almost directly behind the “adit” we had just discovered - was this very large rock wall. It sat up against the base of the cliff, which began its very steep ascent just behind it. The wall was a good 10-12 feet in height, and we could see a collection of fence posts sitting up along the hillside behind it. The fence posts indicated a shaft, and the large rock wall looked very similar to the rock wall supporting the Avery Shafthouse in several old photos (see yesterday’s post).
Here’s a closer look. (check out the BIG PICTURE to see more) My theory is that the shaft sits up along the cliff above this wall, but at its base we found more barbed wire and fence posts. This would seem to suggest the shaft is right along the base of the wall. Either way the whole area looked strange to us so we kept our distance. We were sure the Avery shaft was around here somewhere, and that was enough.
Taking a short walk to the west from the Avery Shaft we discovered even more ruins hiding up along the cliff base. Our first clue were these iron artifacts sticking up out of the ground that we literally tripped over. I’m not sure what they are, but I don’t think this is their original position. Pulling on them they seemed to give slightly, so I’m sure they’re not connected to anything.
Then we found something even better.
It was yet another stone smoke stack, the fifth we have found here. (one at the stamp mill, one at the hoist/boiler house, one up on the hill near the No. 3 shaft, one at the No. 4 shaft, and this one) This one looks a lot different then the rest however. Mostly it just looks in much worse shape then any of the others, with several missing stones and a generous amount of a plaster-like substance slapped over its surface. The plaster must of been used to repair it.
We could see several holes along the stack which looked to have once held wood timbers. The timbers were probably used to help support the masonry, but we didn’t find any evidence of timbers in the other stacks. This must of been the first stack here, before they got the construction process perfected. Why the timbers are no longer in the stack (rotted away?) is beyond me. Their absence doesn’t give me confidence in this stack’s ability to survive another century intact.
We left the smoke stack and came across another suspicious hole in the ground. This one was mostly filled in, but a small ice-rimmed opening remained. It sat up against the steep hillside just a few dozen feet from the stack. We carefully got closer, wondering if this was yet another entrance to the mine. It was then that a bat flew out of it and came within a few inches of hitting us on the head. We had our answer.
By that time I was feeling rather ill (due to my Strep throat and not the bat) so we had to end the exploration early. Hopefully we’ll return another day to finish off what’s still left to be found.
Didn’t C&H do some exploration at the Cliff in their later years? That would explain the concrete bases.
Jay Balliet | June 11, 2008
You know those concrete foundations do look very similar to what we found back up around the No. 4 as well. They probably were added by C&H or by some other company the worked the mine after it closed. Each time the pedestals sit in pairs, so I’m still thinking air compressors or rock crushers.
explorer | June 11, 2008
Did a little quick checking and actually found some info, C&H did some exploring at both Cliff and Phoenix in 1928. Can’t give an end date as the story didn’t mention it, but I would think at most it would be a year or two. I would think the foundation would be some kind of hoist and probably an air compressor, although, how would the stuff be powered? Electricity?
Gordy Schmitt | June 11, 2008
Taking a look at Red Metal book, C&H opened an old vertical exploratory shaft and did some cross cutting to check the different lodes in the area for copper, 1400 ft worth.
Then they opened up 2 shafts at Cliff on the old fissure mine, pumped the mine out and retimbered the shafts, they opened the bottom level for 1500 ft and did exploring with diamond drilling and digging drifts through the different lodes through the area. But no go and they shut things up in Jan 1931.
Looks like they hoped the Phoenix mine and Cliff mines woud have some kind of connection with the copper, but they couldn’t find it.
So doesn’t look like a crusher would be much use.
Gordy Schmitt | June 11, 2008
The two shafts must of been the No. 4 up on the hill and the Avery Shaft here along the cliff base - since these are the two spots I found those ruins. Most likely the original steam equipment was removed long before C&H came along. So the foundations must of been for some small caliber temporary hoist and compressor thing. Perhaps.
As far as powering them, no idea. They must of have a boiler of some type installed nearby. Electricity at this time would be possible, but how did they get the lines out to the shafts? I have never seen any evidence of power poles out there. (which I have seen at other electrically powered mines like Gratiot)
explorer | June 11, 2008
When I was riding the old Keweenaw Central, I was looking for old telegraph insulators, whether they existed there or not I don’t know. But I did find power line poles on the east side of the right of way, this started not to far from Cliff, didn’t really start looking until I had rode away. Guess the question would be what year they put them in. Of course they are all rotted away and laying on the ground, whatever insulators were ceramic of some sort and didn’t like hitting the ground.
Gordy Schmitt | June 12, 2008
That old line could of went to town of Cliff, but I think it was rather abandoned by the time electricity arrived in full force. I have a feeling it may have primarily been to feed Crestview with power - since it ran along the old line. I suppose it could of been several different things. Old photos of the mine sit do show power poles along cliff drive I believe, so the ones along the old rail line might of served some other purpose.
explorer | June 13, 2008
In some article I have it states the theory that got C&H going to re-explore the Cliff Mine, etc.
If I remember correctly, their idea was that the mass copper or fissure lodes exploited at Cliff, etc. were an overflow or surplus connected to larger (if overall lower grade and more disseminated) amydaloidal or conglomerate deposits in the vicinity. Apparantly they didn’t find them.
Herb | June 13, 2008
While out sitting on my deck soaking in the death rays from above, I did some reading in Clarence Monettes book about Cliff. According to the book, in 1907 Tamarack Mining Co (roughly 1/3rd owned by C&H at the time) actually tried first to find the big one, they started at Old No 1 South Cliff, then moved to the old Avery Shaft and built a boiler house big enough for 2 boilers, one boiler installed for pumps and a small head frame over the shaft. They gave up on June 1st, 1909, and pulled all equipment out. Funny, then in August of 1910, after the company was reorganized (Cliff Mining Co of Michigan, same directors as C&H) they started a exploratory shaft. Got it down to about 103ft they bult a small surface plant, in which they built a new stack foundation and moved the old stack from the Old Cliff Mine to the new location. They got down to 217ft by 1911 along with drifting and found no copper. They closed the shaft in June 1913. They did continue to diamond drill through 1915. So this is where the extra stack comes from I would guess.
Gordy Schmitt | June 14, 2008
It also mentions starting again in 1924, an exploratory shaft being deepened again with much cross cutting looking for the magic copper. All the needed equipment was supplied boilers, compressors, along with a shafthouse and combo boiler/engine house. They also mention about cost economies being shared with C&H, one of the items being able to use the C&H’s newly installed power lines installed along the old Keweenaw Central Railway from Ahmeek. Basically, C&H was supplying whatever the Cliff Mining Co needed. I see the mention of a Number 5 shaft, guess this would be the newer(exploratory) shaft. Then work went back to the Avery and Number 4 shaft being worked on. A mention of electric pumps is made at the bottom of the Avery shaft.
How in the heck would anyone be able to tell one ruin from another, even if you mowed down the trees. Other than dating the foundations, it sounds as if things were built one on top of the other.
Then with the extra shafts dug, gees one miss step, you could be saying bye bye
Gordy Schmitt | June 14, 2008
I just wanted to drop a note of thanks to the person who tagged the safe trails out at the Cliff (I assume it was someone associated with this site). It made finding things a lot easier yesterday, though I do wish I’d remembered the bug spray.
Tim | June 15, 2008
Tim..
Thanks, but it wasn’t me. I believe the trail was marked by the Keweenaw Historical Society for their annual tour they put on at the site. They have a few historians take people through the ruins and describe was everything was for. They are convenient, the first time I was there before the markers were up a lot of bushwhacking was required along with some dumb luck in order to find everything. And about the bugs.. both the flies and mosquitos are out in full force right now I also noticed recently.
Gordy..
Now that you bring this up, it means that some of those ruins scattered about the site are more modern then I think. Now I’m wondering what is from the original mine and what came from later explorations. Besides those concrete foundations, I don’t remember finding anything else that screamed “modern” out there. I wonder if they re-used some buildings as well? That boiler complex you talk of has me wondering. It seems like something I should of found out there. Oh well. Your probably right - things might of been built right on top of one another and we’ll never know. Crazy.
explorer | June 15, 2008
Well, after being without power for 14 hours, I get to be back online, Yahoo. They may have reused buildings, although with that additional shaft, that would have been new stuff. But I wonder, being most of that stuff was for exploring, how solidly it was constructed. I would think you would need a decent foundation for the hoist to keep it from traveling.
Other than getting more photos from different years with the newer stuff, you probably will never know. Many of these photos have no dates, about the only thing anyone could do is examine and see if you could find something to date the photo.
Gordy Schmitt | June 15, 2008
I stumbled across this August 1866 NY Times article about Cliff Mine. The author describes a trip that begins in Eagle River, then progresses to the Cliff Mine where he rides the man engine down to view a piece of mass copper being processed by the miners. It’s a grainy PDF scan of a two-column newspaper article. Depending on how the page loads you may need to scroll down to find the start of the article in the left column.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F06EFDB153DE63ABC4851DFBE66838D679FDE
Dale Beitz | June 17, 2008
Dale,
That’s a good article that I hadn’t seen before. I esp. like the manner in which he describes the man-engine and details about being underground, usually skipped over in old accounts.
My favorite period in the Copper Country is from the Civil War on back to the beginning some 8,000 years ago (or was it 80,000 years?), and 1866 is close enough.
Herb | June 19, 2008
For some reason I missed this part of your web site, this is the area where I saw that guy crawling out from under some timbers, so maybe that is the avery shaft. From what I could see he made a 90 degree turn from under the timbers towards the base of the cliff.
rockhound | December 22, 2008
Thats the area i was talking about If the cap was on the ground, its the cap i think i know.
If the cap was parallel to the cliff, and was above ground, and went into the cliff, its not a shaft, and it goes 90 degree turn to the right, and left, and that is for certain not a shaft
Jay Wrix | December 22, 2008