Hometown History

The town of Gay, Michigan sits on Lake Superior with a 265-foot smokestack rising from apocalyptic black sand beaches that can't grow grass. This isn't a warzone, it's what's left after the Mohawk Mining Company extracted half a billion dollars in copper, then sold every house in town for three to seven dollars and vanished. The stamp sands here are so loaded with arsenic they've been called a hellscape, covering what used to be prime whitefish spawning grounds with toxic waste that looks like the surface of the moon.

From 1906 to 1932, Gay was a company town built on copper wealth. Miners discovered Mohawkite here, a rock found nowhere else on Earth, and built a fortress of industry on Superior's shore. When the company liquidated in 1933, they sold 5,000 acres for $25,000 and homes for a dollar per room. What remains is one of the most haunting ghost towns in Michigan: concrete ruins jutting from clear water like derailed train cars, wooden dock remnants stretched like dinosaur bones, and an eerie silence broken only by waves washing toxic sand.

This episode also explores the origin of "what in the Sam Hill," the Gay Bar's decade under ownership by the Dicks family, and why you shouldn't make plans when traveling alone.

Subscribe to Hometown History for forgotten American history stories every week. New episodes release Tuesdays.

Show Notes: 

• The Mohawk mine paid out nearly half a billion dollars before going bust in 1932
• Toxic arsenic-laden stamp sands created a lunar landscape that still can't grow vegetation
• When the company left, they sold every house for $3-7 and the entire town for $25,000
• Mohawkite, a unique copper-arsenic rock, was discovered here and exists nowhere else on Earth
• The ruins feature apocalyptic concrete structures, a 265-foot smokestack, and haunting silence
• Samuel Hill's legendary swearing gave us the phrase "what in the Sam Hill"
• From 1973-1983, the Dicks family owned the Gay Bar (yes, really)

Key Figures:

• Samuel Hill - Eagle Harbor adventurer whose profanity created an American phrase
• Norm Dicks - Gay Bar owner (1973-1983) who covered the walls with 240+ weapons
• Clarence Monat - Local historian who documented the stamp sand "hellscape"

Timeline:

• 1906: Mohawk mine begins operations at Gay, Michigan
• 1906-1931: Mine produces nearly $500 million in copper (adjusted for inflation)
• 1932: Mine operations cease after 26 years
• 1933: Mohawk Mining Company begins liquidation
• 1934: 5,000 acres sold to Copper Range Company for $25,000
• 1973-1983: Norm Dicks owns the Gay Bar, decorating with 240+ firearms
• Present: Toxic stamp sands remain, creating a barren apocalyptic landscape

Tags: Gay Michigan, ghost town, Mohawk mine, toxic stamp sands, Upper Peninsula history, Michigan copper mining, Keweenaw Peninsula, company town history, 1900s mining, Lake Superior, American industrial history, forgotten history, true story, Mohawkite, mining ruins, copper country, Sam Hill origin, abandoned mines, industrial archaeology

Category: History

Chapter Markers: 0:00 - Introduction: A Town Called Gay 2:30 - Samuel Hill and the Origin of an American Phrase 5:00 - Eagle Harbor Lore: Watered Whiskey and Coffee Runs 7:00 - The Midnight Accord: When Plans Go Wrong 9:30 - Delaware Underground: A Self-Guided Mine Tour 12:00 - Arriving in Gay: Blueberries, Signs, and Sloppy Joes 15:00 - The Gay Bar and the Dicks Dynasty (1973-1983) 17:00 - The Mohawk Mine Hellscape: Toxic Stamp Sands 20:00 - Half a Billion Dollars: The Rise of Gay 22:00 - $3 Houses: The Fall and Abandonment 24:00 - Conclusion: Silence, Ruins, and Mortality

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

An 87-year-old woman sits in an easy chair by the window of a 148-year-old general store, scowling at passersby 411 hours a day. She's been called a bridge troll, a local legend, and Michigan's grumpiest shopkeeper. But when you treat her right, and maybe buy a $35 hoodie, Arbutus Peterson will surprise you with unexpected kindness in Phoenix, a dying mining town on the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Phoenix isn't just about one memorable character. It's home to a ghost church frozen in time, an outhouse that might qualify for sainthood, and the nearby ruins of Central Mine, where Cornish miners once sang in four-part harmony on their way into the copper shafts. In 1872, tragedy struck when a skip rope snapped, sending thirteen men plummeting 50 fathoms down. Ten died instantly. The company president never mentioned it to investors.

This is American history stripped of its polish, the forgotten mining towns, the human cost of copper fever, and the stubborn guardians who refuse to let these places disappear entirely. It's local history that reveals what we've chosen to remember, and what we've tried to forget.

Subscribe to Hometown History for forgotten American stories every week. New episodes release Tuesdays.

Show Notes: 

• Meeting Arbutus Peterson, the 87-year-old "bridge troll" of Phoenix General Store who's sat in the same window chair since 1973
• Exploring the ghost church with wax communion figures frozen in time
• The outhouse miracle that Shane will never forget (you've been warned)
• Central Mine ghost town: Where Cornish miners sang four-part harmony descending into copper shafts
• The 1872 skip rope disaster that killed 10 men, and the company report that never mentioned them
• Why some Vietnam vets in the UP might explain Shane's eerie Garden Peninsula encounter
• The Jam Pot vs. The Jam Lady: A holy war over preserves on the Keweenaw Peninsula
• Finding unexpected hospitality at Fletcher's Otter Belly Lodge on Eagle Harbor

Key Figures:

• Arbutus Peterson - Owner of Phoenix General Store since 1973, legendary for her window vigil
• Tom Chabanian - UP resident who lives by fishing, cutting wood, and scavenging copper
• The Cornish Miners - "Cousin Jacks" who sang hymns like "Rock of Ages" on their way down the mine shafts
• 10 Unnamed Miners - Men killed in the 1872 Central Mine skip car disaster

Timeline:

• 1854 - Central Mine opens, becomes first profitable mine in Keweenaw Peninsula
• 1872 - April 22: Skip rope breaks at Central Mine, 10 men killed
• 1873 - Phoenix General Store built
• 1898 - Central Mine closes after 44 years
• 1973 - Arbutus Peterson begins her daily window vigil
• 2018 - Detroit Free Press profiles Arbutus

Tags: Phoenix Michigan, Keweenaw Peninsula history, Upper Peninsula ghost towns, Central Mine Michigan, copper mining history, 1870s mining disasters, forgotten American history, local history podcast, Michigan history, true story, Cornish miners, mining accidents, company towns, ghost church, general store history

Category: History

Chapter Markers: 0:00 - Introduction: The Bridge Troll of Phoenix 2:15 - Arbutus Peterson: Guardian of the General Store 5:30 - The Ghost Church and the Outhouse Miracle 8:00 - The Jam Wars: Holy Preserves of the Keweenaw 10:45 - Central Mine: Where Cornish Singers Descended 14:30 - The 1872 Disaster: Ten Men and a Broken Rope 17:45 - The Company President's Silence 19:30 - Finding Fletcher's Otter Belly Lodge 21:45 - Conclusion: Moving North to Copper Harbor

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

In the heart of Michigan's Upper Peninsula lies Calumet, once the wealthiest town in Copper Country and nearly Michigan's capital city. Today, Shane explores the ghost towns and vanished communities of the Keweenaw Peninsula, where Finnish immigrants built an industrial empire that suddenly collapsed. From White City's abandoned amusement parks to Jacobsville's bronze cemetery markers, the landscape tells stories of prosperity and tragedy.

But Calumet harbors darker memories. In 1893, ten miners fell 3,000 feet down a vertical shaft in pitch darkness, falling for over 20 seconds before impact. One man's wife was waiting outside with his lunch when the cable snapped. At the Italian Hall in 1913, 73 people, including 59 children, died when someone falsely yelled "fire" during a Christmas party. No flames, just panic and a stairwell that became a tomb.

Shane also tackles a question that's plagued ghost town enthusiasts for decades: What actually qualifies as a ghost town? He proposes the Keweenaw Test, a checklist that separates true abandoned communities from disappointingly empty fields. It's a journey through Finnish graveyards, the oldest continuously operating hockey rink in North America, and the ruins of America's first resort towns, where telephones had better service than today and bronze monuments outlast everything.

Subscribe to Hometown History for forgotten American history stories every week. New episodes release Tuesdays.

Show Notes: 

• The Keweenaw Test: Shane's proposed checklist for what actually qualifies as a ghost town
• The 1893 Red Jacket mining disaster where 10 men fell 3,000 feet in pitch darkness
• Why Calumet was almost chosen as Michigan's state capital
• The mystery of the man who vanished from White City's pier in 1916
• Finnish immigration to Michigan's Copper Country and bronze cemetery markers that outlast stone
• The Italian Hall tragedy: 73 deaths from a false fire alarm during a 1913 Christmas party
• Hockey history: Calumet Colosseum, the oldest continuously operating rink in North America
• The 1966 tragedy of seven-year-old Ruth Ann Miller who fell 4,000 feet down an uncapped mine shaft
• Why the Upper Peninsula could become "the next Miami" if teleportation becomes real

Key Figures:

• Ruth Ann Miller - Seven-year-old girl who fell down Tamarack Mine Shaft #4 in 1966, body never recovered
• Richard Mansfield - "Greatest actor of his hour" who performed at the Calumet Theatre
• The ten miners of the 1893 Red Jacket disaster, including Mr. Pope whose wife was waiting with his lunch

Timeline:

• 1874-1912: Monumental Bronze Company manufactures rare bronze cemetery markers
• 1892: Finnish Church built in Jacobsville (still operating today)
• 1893: Red Jacket mining disaster kills 10 workers
• Pre-WWI Era: White City operates as major resort destination
• 1913: Italian Hall disaster kills 73 people during Christmas party
• 1916: Mysterious disappearance from White City pier
• 1966: Ruth Ann Miller falls down uncapped mine shaft
• 2019: Detroit Red Wings play at Calumet Colosseum

Tags: Michigan Upper Peninsula, Calumet Michigan, ghost towns Michigan, Keweenaw Peninsula, Copper Country history, mining disasters, Finnish immigration, 1890s history, local history, American history, Italian Hall disaster, forgotten history, true story, documentary podcast, historical storytelling

Category: History

Chapter Markers: 0:00 - Introduction: Defining What Makes a Ghost Town Real 2:30 - White City: From Amusement Park Destination to Empty Beach 5:45 - The Vanishing Man on White City's Pier (1916) 8:00 - Jacobsville: Finnish Heritage and Bronze Cemetery Markers 11:30 - The Keweenaw Test: A Ghost Town Checklist 14:00 - Calumet: The Wealthiest Town in Copper Country 17:00 - The 1893 Red Jacket Mining Disaster: 20 Seconds of Falling 20:30 - The Italian Hall Tragedy and Woody Guthrie's Ballad 23:00 - Ruth Ann Miller and the Uncapped Mine Shaft 25:00 - Calumet Theatre: Where the Greatest Actors Performed 27:00 - Conclusion: Memory, Monuments, and Forgotten Communities

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

Keweenaw, Michigan. The first mining boom in American history was not the California Gold Rush, the Klondike Gold Rush, or any other gold rush. The first mining boom in American history was the Copper Rush of the uppermost part of the Upper Peninsula, the Keweenaw Peninsula. And by the time it was over, this boom actually had a greater economic impact than either of those gold rushes. In fact, from the 1860s to the 1920s, this part of Michigan supplied over 90% of the world's Copper.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Episode 54 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

The distinctive sound of the Mackinac Bridge is due to the grating in the two center lanes, one going each way. This grating allows air to pass through the bridge, rather than pushing against it. Part of the reason for this technology was the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge years earlier in Washington State. There's footage of this. You see the entire bridge convulsing and rolling like a wave in the wind before plunging into the ocean below.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Episode 53 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

In the year 2100, Michigan's Upper Peninsula might be the best place to live in North America, if you can handle the isolation. Right now, it's the emptiest region in the eastern United States, with sprawling sugar sand beaches completely abandoned on 85-degree summer days. If it were its own state, the UP would be the least populated in America by 50%, despite being larger than Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Delaware combined.

Shane crossed the five-mile Mackinac Straits Bridge expecting to visit Isle Royale for the Michigan Islands series, but the island was on fire, covered in toxic algae blooms, and completely out of toilet paper. Instead, he discovered something better: a 350th birthday party, Victorian mining ghost towns, beaches made entirely of black stamp sand, and the only place on Earth where pure copper and pure silver form together naturally in the rock.

The Upper Peninsula is mining country, home to historic gold, silver, copper, nickel, and iron rushes that built America's industrial age. It's also profoundly weird, empty, beautiful, and culturally isolated. You don't go to the UP to go anywhere else. You go there to go there, and then you go home.

Subscribe to Hometown History for forgotten American history stories exploring the unexpected places that shaped the nation. New episodes release Tuesdays.

Show Notes: 

• Why the Upper Peninsula could become North America's prime climate refuge by 2100
• How Shane's Isle Royale trip went hilariously wrong (fires, algae blooms, no toilet paper)
• The only place on Earth where pure copper and pure silver form together naturally
• Victorian mining ghost towns with black sand beaches and epic mill ruins
• What 56 volumes of local history signs reveal about America's mining heritage
• Why sprawling beaches sit completely empty in perfect 85-degree weather

Key Figures:

• Clarence Manette - Local historian who produced 56 volumes of Upper Peninsula history
• Shane Waters - Your host, collecting copper chunks and slag instead of visiting burning islands

Geographic Focus:

• Mackinac Straits Bridge, St. Ignace, Marquette, Gay Michigan, Isle Royale, Lake Superior

Tags: Upper Peninsula Michigan, Michigan history, climate refuge, copper mining history, American mining history, Mackinac Bridge, forgotten history, local history, true story, Great Lakes history, Midwest history, Isle Royale, ghost towns, mining ghost towns, Victorian mining, pure copper, slag, stamp sand, Lake Superior, American history

Category: History

Chapter Markers: 0:00 - Introduction: The Gateway to America's Future Refuge 2:00 - The Isle Royale Disaster (That Wasn't) 4:30 - St. Ignace's 350th Birthday Party 6:00 - The Loneliest Peninsula: A Cultural Island 8:30 - Pure Copper and Pure Silver: Mining the UP 11:00 - Ghost Towns, Black Beaches, and What Shane Brought Home 12:30 - Preview: Crossing the Mackinac Bridge for Real

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. This episode is focused less on history than a hometown that specializes in history. Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is famous for tourist attractions and southern hospitality, but it's also a hotbed of local culture and storytelling. There are more than two dozen museums and galleries in the area, and whatever your interests happen to be, there is likely something that will appeal to you. A personal favorite of mine, for obvious reasons, is the Alcatraz East Crime Museum.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Episode 51 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

If you liked this: Episode 175 (Athens, Tennessee)

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

Asheville, North Carolina. This new year, why not let Audible expand your life by listening? Explore over 1 million audiobooks, podcasts, and exclusive Audible originals that'll inspire and motivate you. Tap into your well-being with advice and insight from leading professionals and experts on better health, relationships, career, finance, investing, and more. Maybe you want to kick a bad habit or start a good one.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Episode 50 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

If you liked this: Episode 200 (Bessemer City, North Carolina)

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

Only 150 speakers remain. The Cherokee language, once spoken across a million square miles of North America, is disappearing, and COVID just killed 25% of the remaining middle dialect speakers. At the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, North Carolina, cultural liaison John John shares the devastating legacy of boarding schools, the "kill the Indian, save the man" policy that nearly erased Cherokee identity, and the urgent fight to preserve what's left.

John John reveals forgotten Cherokee cities that rivaled medieval European metropolises, explains why sports mascots still wound indigenous communities, and demonstrates the beautiful complexity of a language that's straddling the line between seriously endangered and extinct. From forced cultural erasure to modern language preservation programs, this is the story of what was stolen, what's being lost, and what can still be saved if we act now.

The Museum of the Cherokee Indian is planning expansions to tell these untold stories, the trade networks, the sophisticated urban centers, the technological achievements that American history books erased. But without speakers, the language that holds this knowledge dies. John John teaches us a few precious Cherokee words, plays a traditional flute, and issues a challenge: if you love history, learn Cherokee. Time is running out.

Subscribe to Hometown History for forgotten American history stories every week. New episodes release Tuesdays.

Show Notes: 

• Why only 150 Cherokee middle dialect speakers remain alive today
• The devastating legacy of "kill the Indian, save the man" boarding school policies
• Forgotten Cherokee cities that rivaled medieval European settlements in size and sophistication
• How COVID-19 killed 25% of remaining Cherokee language speakers
• The symbolism of John John's walking belt and the seven clans
• Why indigenous communities still fight against sports team mascots
• The Kituwah Academy's struggle to teach Cherokee to new generations
• Cherokee language examples and the beautiful complexity of an endangered tongue
• How to learn Cherokee online through "Your Grandmother's Cherokee"

Tags: Cherokee language, endangered language, Native American history, Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Cherokee North Carolina, indigenous culture, boarding schools, language preservation, Cherokee history, cultural genocide, Kituwah Academy, seven clans Cherokee, indigenous language learning, North Carolina tribal history, American Indian boarding schools

Category: History

Chapter Markers: 0:00 - Introduction: Museum Expansions and Lost Cherokee Cities 3:30 - The Scale of Cherokee Territory and Forgotten Urban Centers 6:45 - Moving Forward: Voting and Policy Impact 9:20 - The Crisis: Less Than 150 Language Speakers Remain 12:00 - Cowboys and Indians: Cultural Erasure Through Play 15:30 - The Boarding School Legacy: Generational Trauma 18:00 - Hope for Language Survival: Kituwah Academy 20:15 - Learning Cherokee: Words, Phrases, and Cultural Meaning 23:00 - The Seven Clans and Linguistic Diversity 24:30 - The Traditional Cherokee Flute and Conclusion

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

The Cherokee don't believe in signatures. You'd understand why after 40 broken treaties with the U.S. government. In 1763, Britain promised no colonization west of the Appalachians, settlers came anyway. In 1785, the U.S. guaranteed Cherokee land protection, it was seized within years. By 1868, this once-mighty nation had walked the Trail of Tears and lost a million square miles of their homeland.

Today, only 1,500 fluent Cherokee speakers remain worldwide. The language that carried their history for millennia is disappearing. At the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in North Carolina, we meet John John Grant Jr., one of the last 150 fluent speakers of the Eastern Cherokee dialect. He shares the story most Americans never learned, how the Cherokee preserved their true history not in treaties, but in walking belts made of wampum beads, each one a reminder of stories that stretch back to time before memory.

This two-part series uncovers the forgotten resistance, resilience, and cultural wisdom of the Cherokee people. Because real history isn't written in broken promises, it's carried in the voices of those who refuse to forget.

Subscribe to Hometown History for forgotten American stories every week. New episodes release Tuesdays.

Show Notes: 

• Why the Cherokee learned to distrust signatures after 40 broken treaties
• The walking belts: How Cherokee history survived without written language
• John John Grant Jr. shares stories in fluent Cherokee (one of only 150 speakers left)
• The ice bridge theory vs. Cherokee origin stories, what archaeology really shows
• How 1,500 remaining fluent speakers are fighting to preserve an ancient language

Key Figures:

• John John Grant Jr. (John A. Grant Jr.) - Cherokee elder, fluent Eastern Cherokee dialect speaker, cultural historian

Timeline:

• 1763: British Proclamation prevents colonization west of Appalachians (broken immediately)
• 1785: Treaty of Hopewell guarantees Cherokee land (ignored by settlers)
• 1835: Treaty promises Cherokee land will never be claimed by any state
• 1838-1839: Trail of Tears forcibly relocates Cherokee people
• 1868: Final treaty signed after decades of persecution
• Present Day: Only 1,500 fluent Cherokee speakers remain globally

Tags: Cherokee history, Cherokee Nation, broken treaties, Trail of Tears, Cherokee language, North Carolina history, indigenous history, American history, walking belts, wampum, forgotten history, true story, Native American, cultural preservation, documentary, educational

Category: History

Chapter Markers: 0:00 - Introduction: The Cherokee Don't Believe in Signatures 2:30 - Forty Broken Promises: Treaties That Meant Nothing 5:00 - Meeting John John Grant Jr. at the Cherokee Museum 8:00 - The Walking Belts: History Carried in Beads 12:00 - Origin Stories vs. The Ice Bridge Theory 17:00 - The Cohog Shell: How Wampum Became Cherokee History 22:00 - Why the Real Walking Belts Are Hidden 25:00 - Looking Ahead: Part Two Preview 28:00 - Conclusion: Voices That Refuse to Fade

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history