Far From 'Ome
The 14th Gathering of Cornish Cousins
Wednesday, July 25 to Sunday, July 29, 2007
On Michigan's
beautiful Keweenaw Peninsula
In 1844, the copper boom began on the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Drawing on centuries-old traditions, Cornish hard-rock miners came to Lake Superior mines to put their skills to work. Cornish mines declined and closed; Michigan's Copper Country mines prospered.
Central Mine, one of the early successful mines on the Peninsula, was home to more than 1200 people, many of them Cornish. Pasties, saffron, hevva cake and scalded cream must have been common fare.
In 1898, Central mines closed. Many people moved to Calumet to find work in the Calumet & Hecla mines. Calumet & Hecla became the most successful mining company on the Keweenaw. For decades, it was the major employer in the Copper Country.
Prosperity showed in homes built by independent business people . Houses for workers, rented and maintained by Calumet & Hecla, differed in size and décor.
Still, traces of hardy immigrants remain. The aroma of baking pasties wafts from homes and bakeries, reminders of Cornish settlers. Though mining may be a thing of the past, Keweenaw people recognize the value of preserving history and honoring the heritage from their immigrant ancestors
Like so many mining booms, this one eventually “went bust”. In 1968, mines on the Keweenaw closed. Rusting shafthouses are reminders of boom times.
1992 brought national recognition of efforts to preserve the story of copper mining.
Keweenaw National Historical Park now owns and cares for some of the main Calumet & Hecla buildings.
Keweenaw County Historical Society is restoring houses at Central Mine. A newly restored house on the left contrasts with a house that is lived in during the summer but shows the effects of the passage of time
Each summer, many return for the Annual Reunion at the Central Church (Building behind house on right), begun in 1907 by Cornish people who had formerly lived at Central Mine.
July 25 to 29, 2007
sponsored by:
The Central M. E. Church Board
The Cornish American Heritage Society
The Keweenaw County Historical Society
Keweenaw Kernewek, the Cornish Connection of the Copper Country.
The Fourteenth Gathering will offer five days that concentrate on Cornish heritage. Join us in
· dancing the Helston Flora
· seminars on family history and life for Cornish immigrants
· tasting foods that remind us of what grandma used to make
· helping to restore and preserve the traces of the Central Mine settlement
· celebrating traditions at Central.
Enjoy five days of fun, camaradary and learning.
Click on: Scheduled events
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