• Tuesday-What'sUP July 16 - 07:51 pm

Fayette Historic State Park is home to an historic townsite, where the U.P.'s most productive Iron Smelting operations were located. They produced pig iron there, amongst a town of 500 residents, made up of immigrants from Canada, the British Isles and northern Europe. This iron smelter was in operation for 24 years on the shores of Lake Michigan. The limestone and hardwoods in the area, were used in the purifying process of the iron production and eventually came to end when the hardwoods were used up. The Jackson Iron Company then ceased operation there and closed down.

The town now has over 20 buildings that have been restored and hold a wealth of historical information about life in Fayette during that period in history, between 1867 and 1891. The museum and grounds are open to the public from May through October, so make sure you put this on your Upper Michigan to do list, if you haven't already been there.

Special thanks to Melanie Hakala Rossi for making today's visit there and providing us with the beautiful photos taken around the grounds.

Love all the photos, but especially the last one! Thanks, Melanie

A very nice park. We stop there when we go salmon at Fairport. One of the many state parks you can enjoy for no extra charge with a passport sticker on your license plate.

It's been a long time since I visited Fayette, and the photos show they've been hard at work on restoration. Thanks for sharing, Melanie!

And the road down the peninsula to Fayette from Route 2 is a great ride...especially on motorcycle.

This is on my list.