Ruins of the Ahmeek Stamp Mill: Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan

WARNING: If there are any “No Trespassing” signs around, then by no circumstances should you enter this property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing on private property.

Michiganders seeking out the ruins of the Ahmeek Stamp Mill along Torch Lake get confused about what town it is actually in:

Ahmeek? Hubbell? Houghton? Tamarack City?

Get our free mobile app

Well, let's pinpoint this: Ahmeek is about twelve miles away, downtown Hubbell is less than a mile away, Houghton is nine miles away, and Tamarack City is eight miles away. So no matter what your internet sites say, the closest place is Hubbell, so that's what we'll say.

The U.P.'s Keweenaw Peninsula had a good number of stamp mills, most of which are now just ruins. Briefly, stamp mills were used to crush rocks in order to separate the copper.

You can visit some parts of the old stamp mill, but not all. As for any historical info, a sign put up by Michigan Tech University states “Pounding rocks to liberate minerals for separation was relatively simple. The device lifted a weight and dropped it over and over again.”

The sign also hints about the mill's demise: “There was little forethought into what would happen when mining was finished in the Keweenaw.....This last mill was stuck on its stand, and still remains for our appreciation.”

One of the fun parts of wandering through the ruins is the “eternal” or “never ending” doorway through the structures (photo is included in the gallery below).

Take a look...then pay a visit!