Up in the Keweenaw Peninsula is the former mining town of Mohawk...and it's NOT a ghost town.

Ernest Koch came to this area in 1896 and discovered there was copper in the land.  Along came Joseph Gay who did further explorations and realized this was a good area of land to mine...thus, the Mohawk Mining Company was formed in 1898. A community soon sprung up around the mine, thanks to miners and their families and the new village was named after the mine. A post office was implemented in 1901.

One of the unique things about Mohawk is the ore, 'Mohawkite' that is only found in the area surrounding Mohawk and the town of Ahmeek. Made up of arsenic, copper, nickel, silver, and skutterudite, it was discovered in 1900 in the Mohawk mine and to our knowledge, has never been found anywhere else.

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As for the Glaciadome, it opened in 1908. According to the Dec 7, 1963 edition of the Daily Mining Gazette (via Geneology Trails), “In 1908, a group of local men gathered together to form a corporation known as the Keweenaw Rink Company..... The building was constructed by Mohawk Mining Company carpenters and the rink had a surface approximately 72 by 158 feet.”

The Glaciadome opened December 28, 1908 with skating, dancing, weekend music, parties, and eventually bowling alleys on the second floor. A few years later, it went through re-construction, adding a snack bar and dressing rooms for customers. The second floor was made into a ballroom. Thanks to Mohawk's remote location, lack of income was inevitable and the Glaciadome closed in 1931. In the winter of 1937-38 the back roof caved in thanks to heavy snow. In the spring of 1938 the Glaciadome was demolished. The building was located just southeast of the current elementary school; the site is now covered in heaps of dirt, gravel, and surrounded by brush.

Mohawk is one of those Keweenaw places to definitely check out on your next northern roadtrip!

The Old Mining Town of Mohawk, Michigan

MORE MICHIGAN MINING TOWNS:

Delaware Ghost Town and Abandoned Mine

Ghost Town of Clifton (Cliff & Cliff Mine)

Vintage Photos of Ghost Town, Central Mine

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