More Underwater Archaeology at the Smelter

As you may recall from an earlier post, in September 2009 we teamed up with the Isle Royale Institute and Nautilus Marine Group to perform a quick underwater sonar survey of the Quincy Smelter waterfront. Now, these two organizations have been kind enough to share the final composite image that was generated during the survey!

The composite image of the lake floor around the smelter. 

 As you can see, we didn’t discover any shipwrecks or buried treasure. However, note the disturbed bottom right in front of the smelter. This was likely caused by turbulence generated by the propellors of ships visiting the smelter to unload coal or other supplies or to take on a load of copper ingots. The original dock pilings are also very clear. The black north/south trench at the east end of the smelter is modern, caused by the installation of a new sewer line last year. The smaller black circles are shadows cast by the sonar rig itself.

Since most re-use scenarios for the smelter call for the docks to be redeveloped for water access, this image should help identify areas to be studied further prior to new construction. Thanks again to the Isle Royale Institute and Nautilus Marine for providing us with a new and interesting view of the smelter!

Underwater Archaeology at the Smelter

Before we continue our exploration of the historic copper smelters of the Keweenaw, we’ll take a brief detour to examine some of the modern research that’s being done at the Quincy Smelter. In September 2009, we had the pleasure of riding along with a number of other interested parties as they used new sonar technology to look at the smelter from a new angle.

Thanks to the efforts of a variety of individuals and organizations, some basic underwater archaeology has taken place at the Quincy Smelter. We tagged along with Brian Abbott, of Nautilus Marine Group, and Ken Vrana, director of the Isle Royale Institute, for some sonar imaging of the smelter shoreline. Using Michigan Tech’s research vessel, the Agassiz, and Brian’s imaging equipment, we were able to get a good look at some of the underwater features associated with the smelter. Thanks to the high-resolution sonar, we were able to quickly spot and identify features such as the Quincy dock and some remains of the old Franklin stamp mill which occupied the site before the smelter was built. This is a great step towards better understanding the smelter, and should also help guide future redevelopment plans.

 

The sonar imager

Getting the rig ready to go underwater

Sonar scan of the shoreline at the west end of the smelter, with dock pilings at the top

Smelter from the pilothouse of the R/V Agassiz