Delaware Mine celebrates 40th anniversary
The Delaware Mine opened its doors for the public to tour 40 years ago today. The owners hosted a celebration in Mohawk and unveiled a new addition.
The mine operated between 1847 and 1887. Today, it serves as the Keweenaw’s oldest attraction. Tom and Lani Poynter have owned and operated the mine since its opening on July 5th, 1977. Little has changed over the past 40 years.
“We’ve gone from guided tours years ago to self-guided now, which people seem to enjoy. The tours got much longer and we have more things to see on the grounds, plus our skunks that we’ve had for the last 15 years,” said Owner and Operator of Delaware Mine Tom Poynter.
The tour leads visitors down into the original mine, which has been left just as it was when it was operational. Today, tours for the mine were back to the 1977 prices: three dollars for adults and one dollar for children. The prehistoric mining pit shows how the land was mined before the 19th century. In honor of the mine’s anniversary, the Copper Country Ancient Sites Conservancy talked about the stages of ancient copper mining and even how there are still traces of copper. In addition to ruins of the original pump house and hoist house on the grounds, the Poynters are adding another attraction: the Lore of the Lakes Maritime Museum, which is moving from Copper Harbor.
Poynter said “By the end of the summer, we should have quite a few displays in, so it’ll be part of the tour then. We’ll be ongoing, putting things in, looking for marine artifacts, models, things like this, old engines, so, anybody has some they’d like people to see, I’d love to show them here.”
The attraction is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm. Don’t forget to wear sturdy shoes and a hard hat!