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
