Between ages 12 and 18, I lived in Houghton, Michigan. I still have family in the area and we now like to return annually to spend time with them. I was lucky enough to live here at a time when an accessible arts scene was very active. There was an all ages venue that hosted punk, reggae, country, and everything in between. There’s also a tiny ski hill that I spent most weeknights at during the winter, and in general, for the midwest, there is a great deal of topography and wild space. A very fortunate place to find oneself.

Houghton is the gateway to the Copper Country, a former mining boom area at the tip of the Upper Peninsula. At the turn of the 20th century, the area was one of the leading sources of copper worldwide. Thousands poured into the area to make a living. Many were Finns, many were from Cornwall, and others from elsewhere. They faced frigid and long winters, brutally dangerous working conditions, and relative isolation from the rest of the country. The last of the original mines closed in 1968, but the area had been on emptying out for years after peak demand waned with the end of World War II. Since then, the population has remained flat but is aging.

The neighborliness and civility I knew in the 90s is steadily eroding. Houghton and the area is a microcosm of the greater political climate. There’s a university in Houghton that brings many international students and staff, giving rise to quite a few liberal to leftist thinkers in the area, butting up against a fast growing and increasingly strident Apostolic lutheran population coupled with classically disaffected, areligious poor whites. In particular, there were fierce local battles during the Covid mandates a year ago.

For photography, the area is rich. Multitudes of historical homes and factory ruins abound, and the autumn colors and lake superior sunsets and sunrises are world famous. Here’s ten photos from my family’s trip out here in June.