July 24, 2008

For people who enjoy all the modern conveniences of today, it might be difficult to grasp the hardships and challenges of mid-19th-century life. Brenda Laakso, site historian with the Michigan Historical Center at Fayette Historic State Park, will do her best to share that story with the public in "Company Rule and Community Life: Industrial Fayette, 1867-1891," at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5, at the Michigan Iron Industry Museum, in Negaunee Township.

Laakso's presentation, the fifth in the museum's seven-part weekday program series, will transport the audience behind the scenes of a gritty Upper Peninsula furnace town operated under the iron fist of the Jackson Iron Company.

"Fayette was once a bustling industrial community that manufactured charcoal pig iron between 1867 and 1891," said Thomas Friggens, a regional manager for the Michigan Historical Center. "Today, this well-preserved museum village recalls another time when it was a noisy, dirty company town with an immigrant population that shared daily miseries and joys."

Located at Snail Shell Harbor, on the Garden Peninsula between Manistique and Escanaba, the iron company built the town to provide services and housing for its furnace operations and residents that once numbered nearly 500. Friggens said the company closed its smelting operation in 1891 and left Fayette due to market declines and increasing production costs.

The State of Michigan acquired the site and developed Fayette State Park in the late 1950s. The Michigan Historical Center has administered the museum program in cooperation with the Department of Natural Resources since 1974.

Upcoming programs at the Michigan Iron Industry Museum include:

• Aug. 12 - "Labor and Conflict: Mining Strikes on the Marquette Range" with Marcus Robyns, Northern Michigan University



• Aug. 19 - "The Making of 'The U.P. Recalls the War'" with Sonya Chrisman, WNMU-TV 13

All programs begin at 2 p.m. Admission is free. Donations are encouraged and proceeds will go to support museum education programs.

The Michigan Iron Industry Museum is one of 11 nationally accredited museums administered by the Michigan Historical Center, a public, non-profit facility of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries. It is located at 73 Forge Road, overlooking the site of the Carp River Forge, a pioneer industrial site listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The recently expanded museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information about the summer program series or upcoming events, call (906) 475-7857 or visit online at www.michigan.gov/ironindustrymuseum.

The Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL) is dedicated to enriching quality of life and strengthening the economy by providing access to information, preserving and promoting Michigan's heritage and fostering cultural creativity. In addition to the Michigan Historical Center, HAL includes the Library of Michigan, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. To learn more, visit www.michigan.gov/hal.

Read more press releases from the Department of History, Arts and Libraries (HAL).