Copper Country Explorer Field Guide No 9

While known for decades the beautiful sandstone cliffs along the Keweenaw's south-east shore were relatively ignored until the 1870s when a man by the name of George Craig - a stone cutter and son of an English quarrier - saw their promise as a source of high quality building stone and opened a quarry of his own. A decade later a businessmen by the name of Henry Jacobs opened a second quarry nearby, establishing the town of Jacobsville in the process. The Jacob's quarry was an incredible success and by the end of the century a half dozen quarries were in operation in the area - creating the Copper Country's third largest industry in the process. The stone mined in these quarries would be used throughout the midwest, in buildings as far away as New York and Chicago. Most of it, however, would stay local and end up in some of the Copper Country's most impressive and iconic structures. These great buildings include soaring cathedrals, opulent homes, grand public buildings, and stately commercial blocks - most of which continue to grace the Keweenaw's historic cities and villages still today.