• Thursday-What'sUP June 2 - 06:26 pm

After spotting this photo in Donn de Yampert's collection, I contacted him for more information, because I had no idea what or where this could be. Donn said that it's located behind the Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity, at 1020 College Avenue, in Houghton. That's the big blue mansion next to the Vision Clinic. This looks like a huge wall, but upon closer inspection of the photo you can see that it's actually a terrace walkway of steps. Supposedly, it dates back to the mining heydays, and was constructed for the servants to walk to their housing after a day of work in the mansion. Quite the decorative way to expedite a trip down (or UP) the hill.

I made it first today

Somebody spent an awful lot of time picking up round (and oblong) rocks to make that wall.....

Familiar sight that I've admired many times when walking up to Shelden Ave from the Super 8. It's kinda cool behind those mansions!

For those interested....That house belonged to my great Uncle Dick and his wife May. Richard Edwards was a son of my great great grandfather Thomas William Edwards. May was a Gottstein and both are buried in the Gottstein plot in the Forest Hill Cemetery not far from the Edwards plots in the old section. Dick and May were obviously wealthy but lost most their $$ in the stock market crash of '29. My 3great grand parents, Richard M. and Jane Edwards have their portrait hanging in the parlour room at the museum in Lake Linden. Anyone wanting my brain dump on Edwards family history can Email me. I love to hear any more details if anyone knows anything.

They aren't four huge steps are they? I'm going to guess the steps are behind the 4 sort of walls?

Great story Margaret, am glad you're keeping up with your history.

Julia, What appear as steps served as a terraced retaining wall/garden down the bank to the Portage Canal. The stone building, now minus roof, was a stable/garage. The house used to be a medium green with yellow trim as depicted in a picture painted by another great uncle, Robert, Richard's younger brother. Last I saw it was still hanging in a hallway on one of the staircases. The boys at the Frat painted the house blue and white with the red roof. It's their colors. pegg

Mary,

What a great find, thanks to Donn de Yampert, and M.M. Edwards - Do tell us more!

My 3great grandfather Richard M. Edwards was a mining captain. He and his wife Jane, who was a Pryor (and there is a boatload of them in the cemetery), and the existing kids at the time came to America in 1849 from Cornwall, England. They got to the Keweenaw in 1850, hanging out initally in Eagle River, then moving to Houghton where 3GF managed at the copper mines. Calumet & Hecla and the Quincy. T.W., my 2great GF, born in 1838, met and married Emily Collingwood from Elmira N.Y. on the way here. Thomas William died in 1899. The house where I am writing this from was T.W and Emily's summer home built in the 1860's. It's on Keweenaw Bay roughly 3 miles north of Baraga. It's so cool to know the history.!!!!!!

Sigma Tau Gamma was my fraternity when I was in school in the mid-70's (or as my kids say, "When Dad and Abraham Lincoln were in undergrad together.")

We bought the house in 1974-5 after having established the fraternity there in 1973.

The woodworking and stained glass is still something to see and the brothers are usually more than happy to give visitors a look.