Fayette State Park, Michigan located on the Garden Peninsula

 

What a difference a day makes. Wind has died and shifted. The lake looks peaceful.

A beautiful spot.

Once a bustling industrial community that manufactured charcoal pig iron between 1867 and 1891, Fayette offers visitors historic buildings set among the unmatched serenity of a Lake Michigan harbor, white cliffs and verdant forests.

The town located on the Garden Peninsula in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP) was a company town, built by the Jackson Iron Company to produce charcoal pig iron. The area was rich with abundant hardwood forests, necessary to supply the charcoal and numerous limestone bluffs, another necessary resource needed to smelt the iron ore. The deep water protected harbor facilitated transportation of goods and raw materials.

The town had a population of over 500, many of whom were immigrant workers of European descent. This vibrant, industrial town housed a company store, post office, school, a doctor, a baseball team and even a coronet band.

 The charcoal- iron market declined as new methods of iron and steel production emerged. As a result, Fayette closed operations in 1891. Most of the residents moved away in search of employment. Some remained for the fishing. The town slowly became a ghost town. In 1959 the state of Michigan acquired the town site and surrounding land and has worked to restore the remaining structures. Today, it is a beautiful state park and historic site enjoyed by visiting tourists.

Dockage looking over the historic town site. The company store in the background was operational until it burned in 1920. 

The site superintendent's 2500 square foot home.

 

Town site looking out over the harbor.

The hotel overlooking the bay.

The blast furnaces for turning iron ore into 150 pound pig iron bars, ready to be shipped out to processing plants.

A fun and educational afternoon visiting this historic, now abandoned town site.