The log houses for the married enlisted men’s quarters were found just outside the wooden stake wall at Fort Wilkins. Since none of the soldiers were stationed very long at the fort, I doubt the wives and children liked moving from one location to the next in the 1840s any more than present military families do.
Married Enlisted Quarters
With the early 1840s copper rush to the Keweenaw Peninsula, the U.S. government was concerned about possible disorder and violence with miners and the Native Americans so in 1844, Fort Wilkins was established at the direction of Secretary of War William Wilkins. Some of the 27 structures built can be seen in this picture including officers quarters, sulter’s store, hospital, company quarters, kitchen and mess room. The fort proved to be unnecessary as the area remained peaceful and by 1846, the companies stationed there were sent to the Mexican–American War leaving one sergeant at the fort. When the remaining soldier died in 1855, the fort was leased to a doctor who hoped to open a health resort but that plans fell through with his death in 1861. After the American Civil War, the U.S. army reoccupied Fort Wilkins for three years in 1867–1870 as a place for men to serve out the rest of their enlistments from the war. The army permanently abandoned the facility at the end of August 1870.
Fort Wilkins
The shelves in the bake house at Fort Wilkins were rather empty the winter of 1844 after the sinking of the John Jacob Astor. The fort didn’t receive its normal winter’s supply even though some supplies was rescued from the wreckage. Flour was in low supply as well as other critical rations until the one remaining ship could deliver additional cargo.
Bake House at Fort Wilkins
In the 1840s, the very frail frontier mining communities along Lake Superior relied on ships to bring supplies. The Sutler’s Store at Fort Wilkins in Copper Harbor was one of the few stores not operated by mining companies in that area and offered competition to the mining stores. The stores also competed for very limited cargo space on the ships and so when the John Jacob Astor sank late in the shipping season, it created a winter supply shortage throughout the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Sutler’s Store
Across the bay from where the Copper Harbor Lighthouse sits, the brig John Jacob Astor was wrecked on the rocks at the end of cove in 1844 when a terrific gale came up and the Astor lost one of its two anchors. Repeated attempts were made to free the Astor from the rocks, but she broke up in the severe winter weather conditions. There was only one other schooner left on Lake Superior that fall so the loss of the Astor created severe winter food shortages across the Upper Peninsula including Fort Wilkins in Copper Harbor.
Shipwreck Site
Cloudy days look better in the fall than in the winter and the view is always better when a lighthouse is in the scene. The Copper Harbor Lighthouse aided in the transport of copper from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and was built in 1866.
Light in Copper Harbor
It would be nice if my driveway was showing more rock and sand instead of ice but the sunshine today wasn’t enough to do any melting with the temperature below freezing. It would be nice to take a walk on a beach in the sunshine and only have to worry about getting shoes wet from a mini rogue wave instead worrying about slipping and falling on ice.
Beach at Herbster
The yellow ball was in the sky today, but it didn’t feel like the sun was throwing much more heat than these yellow round blooms of common tansy. The tansy is very invasive, just like the cold air the last few days.
Golden Buttons
I don’t seen all the critters who venture into my yard but I notice a lot of tracks, especially now with the snow. The turkeys aren’t able to hide their tracks in the grass or their bodies in the lush bush so they probably are ready for summer.
Turkey in Summer
I have hiked to see ice formations and in my much younger days, it was a treat when a new smooth layer of ice formed on the creek for ice skating adventures. But in my older years, my car and I do not like that smooth ice that causes too much slipping and sliding. The frozen tower of ice was hollow inside as you hear the water running inside before flowing out on top of the ice.
Tower of Ice
