Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Implications Of Waste Streams At Camp Au Train, Timothy J. Maze

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Archaeological remains from Camp Au Train provide an opportunity to understand sanitation methods during its use as a Civilian Conservation Corps camp and later used to house German Prisoners of War during World War II. Seven refuse features from this camp were excavated and their contents linked to functional locations within the camp in order to reconstruct waste streams across the site and to observe how military aspects of sanitation were implemented by an organization infamous for its emphasis on cleanliness, order, and hygiene. While the importance of sanitation is often mentioned by historians and archaeologists in research of these …

“Not Much Of A Job”: Everyday Life And Labor At Camp Au Train, Josef T. Iwanicki

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In this thesis, I use data from Camp Au Train, a Civilian Conservation Corp camp in Michigan’s Hiawatha National Forest, as a case study to connect the everyday life of enrollees with dominant government narratives while including a focus on labor and the capitalist crisis of the Great Depression. Using the vantage point of work, play, study, and health, I integrate archaeological, historic, and photographic evidence to show contradictions between the enrollees’ real lived experience and the dominant perspectives of the CCC ‘authorities’ who organized their lives. I argue that to interpret these contradictions, the CCC needs to be connected …

The Motivation To Volunteer: Understanding Volunteer Motivation At United States Industrial Heritage Museums And Organizations, Cooper Sheldon

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Industrial Heritage Museums and Organizations (IHMOs) in the United States (US) and their volunteers are underrepresented in the literature on volunteerism. The motivation and demographics of volunteers in IHMOs within the US are examined in this paper. Research into this topic is exploratory and little is known, therefore any hypothesis was based on personal observations as an AmeriCorps VISTA member in a variety of US museums. An online survey was sent out to three hundred and eighty-five museums across the US, along with conducting twelve in-person or over-the-phone interviews with museum practitioners and volunteers. This research found that a majority …

‘Owing To The Backwardness Of The Season’: Assessing The Exploratory Mining Process On Isle Royale Redacted Version, Andrew Anklam

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Isle Royale, located in Lake Superior, was one center of the nation’s first copper rush. High quality copper veins drew mid-19th century miners looking to stake a claim. By the mid-1850s these initial attempts at lode mining failed as the remote location and logistical hurdles made extracting copper from Isle Royale a costly business. Despite the short-lived nature of these exploratory mines, they played a vital role in defining the nature and profitability of copper lodes in the Lake Superior Basin and serve as an example for how mineral rushes on the western frontier of North America play out. The …

Augmented Reality As A Tool For Industrial Heritage Education And Interpretations, Garand A. Spikberg

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Combining Augmented Reality with spatially and temporally robust Historical Spatial Data Infrastructures may have the potential to provide users with interpretive and educational opportunities they otherwise would not have. Adapting research oriented historical GIS projects such as the Copper Country Historical Spatial Data Infrastructure to usage as interpretive material through the utilization of “off the shelf” augmented reality applications such as AuGeo has the potential to expand the utility and reach of that research data outside of the lab, while providing new interpretive opportunities by allowing users to see that data in its original spatial context and giving them the …

Salted Fish And Spawning Capitalism: The American Fur Company’S Fishing Experiment In Lake Superior, Brendan Doucet

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The American Fur Company established and operated commercial fishing stations in Lake Superior from 1834 until the company dissolved in 1842. The role that the company played in the fur trade created ecological and economic conditions that had detrimental impacts on the Anishinaabe’s ability to practice traditional ways of life and diminished the Lake Superior region of fur bearing mammals. These conditions were exasperated in their commercial fishing efforts which brought about a transition in relations between labor, capital, and the environment. This was a period of transition for both the AFC and the Anishinaabeg who by the 1800’s had …

The Archaeology Of The Postindustrial: Spatial Data Infrastructures For Studying The Past In The Present, Daniel Trepal

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Postindustrial urban landscapes are large-scale, complex manifestations of the past in the present in the form of industrial ruins and archaeological sites, decaying infrastructure, and adaptive reuse; ongoing processes of postindustrial redevelopment often conspire to conceal the toxic consequences of long-term industrial activity. Understanding these phenomena is an essential step in building a sustainable future; despite this, the study of the postindustrial is still new, and requires interdisciplinary connections that remain either unexplored or underexplored. Archaeologists have begun to turn their attention to the modern industrial era and beyond. This focus carries the potential to deliver new understandings of the …

Intemperate Men: Alcohol And Autonomy Within The Lumber Camps Of Michigan’S Upper Peninsula, Tyler D. Allen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In industrial settings of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, capital often instilled discipline through control of social behaviors. Among those, alcohol consumption was most often targeted due to its effects on worker productivity. Although many industrial settings of this time enforced sobriety policies, the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company (CCI) never enforced sobriety within their lumber camps. CCI took a hands-off approach to managing their lumber camps, which allotted their workers a great deal of autonomy. These lumber camps provide the opportunity to explore how workers used alcohol within an industrial setting when given autonomy. Looking at bottle remains and …

Preservation For Future Generations: Digital Technologies, Digitalization, And Experiments With Consumers As Producers Of Industrial Heritage Documentation, Mark Dice

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

As digital documentation and recording technologies have evolved, so has the perception that they are segregated and intended primarily for use in either engineering/scientific or amateur/consumer applications. In contrast to this notion, the three-dimensionality afforded by these technologies differs only when considering them in the order of priorities; laser scanners and related image acquisition technologies document and visualize while inversely, consumer cameras visualize and document. This broad field of digital acquisition technologies has evolved into a heterogeneity of tools that all capture aspects of the physical world with a line drawn between them becoming blurred. Within this evolution, these tools …

Music In The Northern Woods: An Archaeological Exploration Of Musical Instrument Remains, Matthew Durocher

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Archaeological and historical literature neglects music and sound. The quantity and distribution of musical remains found during archaeological excavations at Coalwood, a Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company (CCI) logging camp active from 1901-1912 in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, addresses the importance of music to the people that lived there. Musical reed plates from harmonicas, concertinas, and accordions were recovered and examined. These musical remains have traditionally been ignored as a diagnostic artifact, but here, I use them as primary evidence to access the daily lives of people in the northern woods. To do this, I will present how CCI developed Coalwood …

Kinetic Landscape And Unalloyed Potential: Rethinking The Extractive Landscape Of Michigan's Native Mass Copper Mining Industry, Sean Gohman

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation examines the extractive landscape and persistent lifespan of native mass copper mining in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The historic native copper mining industry of Michigan lasted for over a century, though its impacts on the landscape can be broken into two distinct, though overlapping, phases of extractive practice: mass mining and disseminated lode mining. Each mined specific native copper deposits, utilized related but specialized technologies, and relied upon different sources of energy to power its practices. A first, formative phase of mass mining exploited fissures of pure metallic copper using traditional technology and organic sources of fuel. A second …

Black-Americans In Michigan’S Copper Mining Narrative, Brendan Pelto

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This thesis details the Phase 1 archaeological investigation into Black-Americans who were active on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan during the mining boom of the 1850s-1880s. Using archaeological and archival methods, this thesis is a proof-of-concept for future work to be done that investigates the cultural heritage of Black Americans in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

A Landscape Of Water And Waste: Heritage Legacies And Environmental Change In The Mesabi Iron Range, John Baeten

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation explores the intersection between mining technology, industrial heritage, and environmental history, using iron mining in the Mesabi Range of the Lake Superior Iron District as its core case study. What impact did technological shifts in iron mining and ore processing have on the environment of the Lake Superior basin? How did the environmental changes wrought from low-grade iron ore mining and processing, such as the expansion of open-pits and the production of tailings, affect different communities in Minnesota’s Mesabi Range? And finally, how have the environmental legacies of iron mining been remembered and memorialized, or ignored and forgotten?

An Investigation Of Historic Landscape Occupation, Transformation, And Interpretation At Windigo, Isle Royale National Park, Marley Chynoweth

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Windigo Ranger Station, Isle Royale National Park, is an historic landscape that provides a gateway to wilderness at one of America’s least visited national parks. Aspects of isolation have helped preserve Isle Royale’s extensive natural and cultural resources, making it an enticing setting for researchers and outdoor enthusiasts. This thesis combines information gathered from archaeological fieldwork and archival research to construct a narrative of landscape transformation at Windigo, Isle Royale National Park. From historic industrial townsite to contemporary NPS visitor port, this narrative highlights three prominent eras of landscape occupation headlined by the Wendigo Copper Company, Washington Club, and a …

Early Copper Smelting In The Lake Superior Region:A Case Study Of The Isle Royale And Ohio Mining Company, 1846-1852, Adrian Blake

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The lodes of native copper found in the Lake Superior region presented new opportunities for investors and miners alike. Making these opportunities pay required the unique challenges presented by the region’s remoteness and unique geological formations to be overcome. A primary way in which these newly emerging companies overcame these challenges was through successful vertical integration of the copper refining industries. Smelting came to the region early, but met with little success as the workers first needed to retool their skills and experiences to the demands of the region’s mineral deposits. In 1848 the Isle Royale and Ohio Mining Company …

Archaeological Investigations And Historical Survey, Fort Wilkins Historic State Park: Keweenaw County, Michigan, Eric T. Pomber

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Michigan Technological University has been performing archaeological and historical surveys at Fort Wilkins Historic State Park as part of a multi-year contract since 2013 with each year’s work focused on different properties held by the Park. The 2015 field season focused on the 6 acre Copper Harbor Range Lighthouse (20KE33) property immediately west of Fanny Hooe Creek resulting in the identification of eight archaeological features through a combination of pedestrian survey, shovel pit testing, and excavation. Among the features identified are the Astor House (20KE83), an early hotel in the region which was noted in the writings of travelers visiting …

Powering An Industry: The History Of The Calumet And Hecla Electrical System And The Environmental Consequences Left Behind, Emma M. Zawisza

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Calumet and Hecla Copper Mining Company in Houghton County, Michigan, was established in 1865 and closed its doors in 1968. This company was a major contributor in developing secondary copper processing and used these methods to produce copper even when its underground mines were closed. C&H built its own electrical transmission system that could have rivaled many during its time. This allowed the company to have the ability to produce and control its electrical network and expand, but it had major environmental effects. Polychlorinated biphenyl compounds (PCBs), used in transformer oil and other components were produced between about 1930 …

Lenses Of Industry: The Rise Of Industrial Photography In The United States And The Lake Superior Mining District, 1880-1933, Robert Anthony

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This thesis, Lenses of Industry, examines how industrial companies and engineers adapted photography to their needs in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Innovations in camera and plate technologies marketed to a broad range of people contributed to a steep rise in the number of photographers in the United States. Recognizing the potential that photography held for industrial companies and engineers, a handful of experts advocated the idea that photography had the potential to make many aspects of business faster, and easier, as well as to make visual records more truthful and accurate. Likewise, innovations in halftone printing technology …

Technology, Mining Methods And Landscapes Of A Placer Mining District In Fairbanks, Alaska, 1900-1930, John P. Baeten

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Placer miners in Alaska’s interior were part of the last great gold rush in North America. As word of gold in the Fairbanks Mining District traveled down the Yukon River, a wave of miners from the Klondike placer fields in Dawson, along with a assortment of speculators and inexperienced green horns from the Lower 48 converged on the confluence of the Tanana and Chena rivers hoping to strike it rich. The steamers coming from Dawson were integral; they carried miners with experience working the frozen subarctic placer deposits of the Klondike. These miners encountered new environmental challenges that required the …

Public Values And Perceptions Of Industrial Heritage In The Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan, Natiffany R. Mathews

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The purpose of this research is to assess public values and perceptions concerning industrial heritage in the Keweenaw by studying visitors at an endangered mining site tour. This research presents and analyzes feedback collected directly from participants in the Cliff Mine (Michigan) archaeological field school public tour surveys in June 2011, gathers semi-structured interview data from survey participants and local experts, and synthesizes and collates both survey and interview data. As those who study heritage site visitors have found, in all outreach there is a necessity for deeper understanding of visitors for the outreach to be effective. An appropriate metric …

"Brethren Upon The Same Level" : Membership And Class In Calumet's Masonic Lodge, Brandon Anthony Sexton

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan was a ethnic conglomerate of cultures and ideas, with people attracted to the area by the mineral wealth found along the Copper Range. The center of copper mining from the mid 1860s to 1968 was in the vicinity of Calumet Township, home to the world-famous Calumet and Hecla Mining Company. The township depended on the mines and the company’s president Agassiz’s strove to make the area a “model community,” that included groups such as the Free and Accepted Masons. Men from myriad backgrounds arrived in Calumet from the British Isles, Germany, Finland, Eastern and …

Lighthouses As An Overlapping Boundary Between Maritime And Terrestrial Landscapes : How Lighthouses Served To Connect The Growing Industries Of The Keweenaw Peninsula With The World Market, Lisa M. Gillis

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Lighthouses are an important part of the industrial heritage of the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan. They functioned as an integrated system that facilitated shipping on Lake Superior and supported the growing industry of the Keweenaw Peninsula. For this reason, lighthouses can be considered as an overlapping boundary between the maritime and terrestrial landscapes. As shipping and industry changed, the lighthouse boundary also changed. Changes to the boundary are reflected in the contractors involved in the construction of lighthouses and the decisions they made with the resources, principally building materials and knowledge, which they had at their disposal. The decline of …

Preserving And Interpreting The Mining Company Office : Landscape, Space And Technological Change In The Management Of The Copper Industry, Renee M. Blackburn

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The purpose of this research is to examine the role of the mining company office in the management of the copper industry in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula between 1901 and 1946. Two of the largest and most influential companies were examined – the Calumet & Hecla Mining Company and the Quincy Mining Company. Both companies operated for more than forty years under general managers who were arguably the most influential people in the management of each company. James MacNaughton, general manager at Calumet and Hecla, worked from 1901 through 1941; Charles Lawton, general manager at Quincy Mining Company, worked from 1905 …

More Favorable Combination Of Circumstances Could Hardly Have Been Desired : A Bottom To Top Examination Of The Pittsburgh And Boston Mining Company's Cliff Mine, Sean M. Gohman

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The Cliff Mine, an archaeological site situated on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan, is the location of the first successful attempt to mine native copper in North America. Under the management of the Pittsburgh & Boston Mining Company from 1845-1879, two-third of the Cliff’s mineral output was in the form of mass copper, some pieces of which weighed over 5 tons when removed from the ground. The unique nature of mass copper and the Cliff Mine’s handling of it make it one of the best examples of early mining processes in the Keweenaw District. Mass copper only constituted 2% of …

Arctic Network Builders : The Arctic Coal Company's Operations On Spitsbergen And Its Relationship With The Environment, Cameron C. Hartnell

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

In 1906, two American industrialists, John Munroe Longyear and Frederick Ayer, formed the Arctic Coal Company to make the first large scale attempt at mining in the high-Arctic location of Spitsbergen, north of the Norwegian mainland. In doing so, they encountered numerous obstacles and built an organization that attempted to overcome them. The Americans sold out in 1916 but others followed, eventually culminating in the transformation of a largely underdeveloped landscape into a mining region.

This work uses John Law’s network approach of the Actor Network Theory (ANT) framework to explain how the Arctic Coal Company built a mining network …

Winning Coal At 78° North : Mining, Contingency And The Chaîne Opératoire In Old Longyear City, Seth C. Depasqual

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the evolution of an early 20^th century mining system in Spitsbergen as applied by Boston-based Arctic Coal Company (ACC). This analysis will address the following questions: Did the system evolve in a linear, technological-based fashion? Or was the progression more a product of interactions and negotiations with the natural and human landscapes present during the time of occupation? Answers to these questions will be sought through review of historical records and material residues identified during the 2008 field examination on Spitsbergen. The Arctic Coal Company’s flagship mine, ACC Mine No. 1, …

Reflection, Refraction, And Rejection : Copper Smelting Heritage And The Execution Of Environmental Policy, Bode J. Morin

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This dissertation examines the global technological and environmental history of copper smelting and the conflict that developed between historic preservation and environmental remediation at major copper smelting sites in the United States after their productive periods ended. Part I of the dissertation is a synthetic overview of the history of copper smelting and its environmental impact. After reviewing the basic metallurgy of copper ores, the dissertation contains successive chapters on the history of copper smelting to 1640, culminating in the so-called German, or Continental, processing system; on the emergence of the rival Welsh system during the British industrial revolution; and …

Waterpower : A Geophysical And Archaeological Investigation Of The Waterpower System At The West Point Foundry, Cold Spring, New York, Kimberly A. Finch

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Waterpower: A Geophysical and Archaeological Investigation of the Waterpower System at the West Point Foundry, Cold Spring, New York, describes the results of ground penetrating radar surveys and archaeological excavation undertaken by Michigan Technological University (MTU) archaeologists during the summer of 2003 at the West Point Foundry, Cold Spring, New York. 2003 constituted MTU's second field season at the foundry. Fieldwork concentrated on the foundry's waterpower system, an intricate network of surface and subsurface drains, races, flumes, waterwheels, turbines, dams, and ponds that powered operations and regulated water flow throughout the site. Archaeologists utilized non-destructive geophysical technology, which expedited survey, …

Examining Patterns Of Italian Immigration To Michigan's Houghton County, 1860-1930 , Cristina Menghini

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

No abstract provided.