Fayette Historic
Townsite
13700 13.25 Lane
Garden, Michigan 49835
(906) 644-2603 or
TDD (800) 827-7007
Fayette Historic Townsite is located in the Upper
Peninsula of Michigan between Escanaba and Manistique.
Fayette is seventeen miles south of U.S. 2 in Fayette
Historic State Park, accessible via Delta County Road 183
off US-2 west of Manistique. It once was a bustling
industrial community which manufactured charcoal pig iron
for economical shipping to the Great Lakes steel
companies.
In the mid-1800s, iron ore was shipped from the Upper
Peninsula mines to the foundries in the lower Great Lakes at
an enormous cost. This high cost of shipping was caused by
inefficient transportation combined with the nearly 40
percent waste the ore contained. The solution was to build a
blast furnace close to the mine where the ore could be
smelted into pig iron before it was shipped to the
steel-making centers. The town had to be relatively close to
the Escanaba ore docks, have a natural harbor, and be near
the limestone and hardwood forests that were needed to smelt
the iron ore.
Named after Fayette Brown, the Jackson Iron Company
agent who chose the site, Fayette was once one of the Upper
Peninsula's most productive iron-smelting operations.
Located on the Garden Peninsula at Snail Shell Harbor,
Fayette grew up around two blast furnaces, a large dock and
several charcoal kilns after the Civil War. Nearly five
hundred residents, many immigrating from Canada, the British
Isles and northern Europe, lived in and near the town that
existed to make pig iron.
During twenty-four years of operation, 1867 to l891,
Fayette's blast furnaces produced a total of 229,288 tons of
iron, using local hardwood forests for fuel and quarrying
limestone from the bluffs to purify the iron ore. When the
charcoal iron market began to decline, the Jackson Iron
Company closed its Fayette smelting operation. :
Today, visitors to Fayette State Park see nineteen
structures including several public and commercial
buildings, residences which housed the people of Fayette,
and the stabilized ruins of the furnace complex.
Attractions include a visitor center, museum exhibits,
a twenty-six-station walking tour and a scale model of the
original townsite. Scheduled tours are offered to visitors
from mid-June through Labor Day. The visitor center is
handicapped accessible. Allow two to three hours for tour of
the townsite.
Annual events include the Fayette Heritage Days the
2nd Saturday in August featuring period displays, food and
music.
Camp in Fayette
State Park while visiting
this historic town.
Lodging
in Manistique
Lodging
and Recreation at Garden and the Garden
Peninsula
Area Attractions on the Garden
Peninsula
The Village Artisans
of Garden is a delightful Art Gallery filled with
fine arts and crafts created by Upper Peninsula Artists.
Enjoy the beautiful paintings, photography, pottery,
weaving, jewelry, fabrics, metal creations, wood turning,
baskets, glass blowing, stained glass, home made jams,
interesting books, plus much more. The Garden Art Gallery is
open daily from Mid-May through Mid-October. Located between
Escanaba and Manistique, 8 miles south of US-2. Turn south
at Garden Corners on Highway M-183 to the town of Garden,
Michigan. Phone 906-644-2025
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Photo of Fayette Smelter from the water by Nicole Martin
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