The officers quarters were a bit more cozier than the enlisted married men log housing and definitely fancier than the general enlisted men barracks at Fort Wilkins.
Officer Quarters
Picture of the Day for January 17, 2019
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
Picture of the Day for January 16, 2019
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
Picture of the Day for January 15, 2019
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
Picture of the Day for January 14, 2019
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
Picture of the Day for January 13, 2019
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
Picture of the Day for July 8, 2017
While I normally seem to visit historic sites during the off season, people enjoying this fort today may spot soldiers scrolling down the wooden cover porch as they emerge from the various buildings, like the mess hall and living quarters, as reenactors wander around the old fort.
Old Fort Walkway
Picture of the Day for April 19, 2017
Listening to the cold rain falling this evening made me feel chilled even in a warm house. These log buildings looked like they are chinked well so they may be able to keep the damp winds out and warm inside from the fireplace. These buildings were the living quarters for married enlisted men at Fort Wilkins in Copper Harbor, Michigan which was built in 1844.
Married Enlisted Soldiers Quarters
