Quincy Mine
Industrial Heritage · Hancock, Michigan
Quincy Mine is a copper mine site on the hillside above Hancock in the Keweenaw Peninsula, worked by the Quincy Mining Company from 1846 until 1945. The surface plant is dominated by the No. 2 Shaft-Rockhouse and the enormous steam hoist, billed as the largest steam hoist ever built, whose drum and flywheels fill a whole building. Tours are run by the Quincy Mine Hoist Association: a surface tour of the hoist house and shaft buildings, and an underground tour reached by a cog tram that carries you down the slope to a level of the old workings. The mine is cool all year, so bring a jacket even in July. Hard hats are provided. It suits industrial history fans, families with older children and anyone driving the Keweenaw. Tours are seasonal, roughly May to October, so confirm dates and tour times before you drive up. Allow about two hours. Keweenaw National Historical Park is a separate, nearby site, as are Houghton and Michigan Tech.
49750 US-41, Hancock, Michigan, 49930, United States
Quincy Mine is open seasonally, commonly from about May through October, with tours running on a daily schedule through the summer and a shorter schedule in the shoulder months. Exact opening dates, the first and last tour of the day, and which tour types run on which days change by year, so confirm with the Quincy Mine Hoist Association before you plan the trip. The gift shop and hoist house are generally open during tour hours. In winter the Keweenaw gets very heavy lake-effect snow and the site is normally closed to visitors. Underground tours are timed groups with limited places, so arrive well before the tour you want, and expect them to sell out on summer weekends.