Last week's shots of the old Portage Canal swing bridge spurred quite a few memories. You can see it above in the distance... it appears to be either open or under construction (which would date this post card to the late 1890's... but what about the fact it's in color??). A captivating little bit of time travel - I stood at this very spot yesterday, photographing the Alzheimer's Association fundraiser walk (see last weeks Pasty Cam).

And if you want to continue your time travels across this locale, beam on over to CopperRange.org.

Did a forest fire wipe out all of the trees on the hillsides? Or was Mount Ripley a larger ski hill around the turn of the century? Did Mt. Ripley exist at the turn of he century?

Charlie, the photo was hand colored, a common technique on early photographs. I hope you keep bringing us these shoebox memorys.

Nearly the entire Keeweenaw Peninsula was clear cut of the trees for lumber in construction, for fuel and heat.

I don't believe Mont Ripley existed as a ski hill back then. Wasn't there a railroad across the top of the mountain that was run by Quincy? And didn't they use the track to dump all their tailings down the side of the hill which gives it the lumpy shapes of today.

Wow - that's a lota copper. How did people get back and forth across the canal before that bridge?

More than we found under our front porch on Blanche Street! Could have made our fortune selling THAT to the South American passengers.

The location of Mont Ripley is the only spot on the hillside where the deposits are entirely glacial, but most of the other valleys on the hillside were filled with poor rock, and slag from the Quincy mines & smelters. They would build wood trestles accross the valleys then dump until the rock or slag came up to the railroad track level.

It doesn't appear that the swing bridge is present. An alternative reason for this... On April 15, 1905 the steamer Northern Wave struck the swing span and knock it into the lake.

My aunt tells me she and her friends would get on the swing span (1930's) right before it opened for ships.

Does Anyone know what the dimensions & weight
were on one ingot?

Da'Joizy,

Your aunt is correct. I grew up in east Hancock and in the 1940's when we heard a boat give the signel to open the bridge we ran as fast as we could to catch the swing bridge. It was great fun though the men who ran the bridge were never too pleased.