Freda, Michigan

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The remains of the Freda mill

Freda, Michigan is an abandoned copper town found fifteen miles west of Houghton, Michigan. Once a booming, dynamic town, Freda was a key part of the copper industry in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, just west of the Keweenaw peninsula, receiving copper ore from the surrounding region, and breaking it into a more manageable form.

Town was named after William A. Paine's daughter.

1 History
2 References

[edit] History

Freda and its companion, Beacon Hill, Michigan, were owned and maintained by Champion Mining Co., a subsidiary of Copper Range Consolidated.

[edit] Freda Park

Recreation once was a high past time of those in the Copper Country, and Freda existed as a holiday vacation spot. The Freda Park was opened in 1908, funded completely by the Copper Line Railroad Company. It maintained the title as the cleanest and best maintained park in the copper country to enjoy a picnic (DMG - 6/12/1912).

With the decline of people’s dependence on the rail road system, the park was shut down on Labor Day in 1918, thus handicapping the Freda community. In a 1966 article of the The Daily Mining Gazette, a reporter simply stated, “…only the files of newspapers, books, and periodicals will be mute evidence to days enjoyed of yesteryear.”

The closing of Freda Park was only the beginning, and the arrival of the automobile ultimately led to the demise of Freda. Based solely on the railroad system, the town limited itself by its property owned either by the mining company or the Copper Line. Freda continued to boom after 1918, but its limited market prevented any other growth away from the copper industry.

[edit] Operation

The design of the mill was based upon dumping of copper-filled rocks from a locomotive into an area where 1 of 5 stamps would break the minerals into pieces. Water from Lake Superior was added, while the pieces were pulverized by iron balls. The result was a sludge that was forty percent copper or more. This was then sent by locomotive to Michigan Smelter, near Houghton. From there, the copper was made into ingots and shipped to the world.

[edit] Closing

Superior View Restaurant

Much of Freda’s fundamental character and identity were lost with the closing of the mill. After the last whistle blew on November 4, 1967 (DMG, 'Week' 8/22/1985)

With its closing, a two year salvage operation began, involving the removal of all valuable materials. Everything to machinery and pipe systems were gutted, and lumber was salvaged. Even the steel rails for the train system were taken, due to their value, since the Beacon Hill bridge alone contained 310 tons of iron (DMG - 8/28/1971).

In the wake of the mill's closing, the Post Office closed, and was later converted into the Superior View Restaurant. The restaurant is owned by Clyde & Leo Durocher