Donna Winters

Picturing Fayette Donna Winters

Fayette Historic Townsite in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan offers visitors a step back in time to a nineteenth century company town. Here, nestled beneath a towering limestone bluff on Lake Michigan, the Jackson Iron Company operated two iron smelting furnaces. From December 25, 1867 to December 1, 1890, hot iron poured forth into casting houses, was cooled and separated into "pigs", and shipped to Ohio aboard schooners. Today, several original structures give testimony to Michigan's industrial past-from the laborers' log cabin, to the managers' salt box homes, to the "Big White House" on the bluff that was occupied by the superintendent. In the center of all these stands the working core of the once-thriving village-the furnace stacks, casting houses, company store, warehouse, town hall, company office, machine shop, and hotel. Through the pages of this book, tour this fascinating open air museum that offers million-dollar views of the harbor, bay, and quaint remnants from nearly 150 years ago. Quotes from newspapers of that era serve as captions, bringing the town to life. Fayette Historic Townsite is without a doubt one of the best-preserved company towns in America and a gem of Michigan history that is unlike any other.