The Ghost Town of Nisula: Houghton County, Michigan

I guess you could safely call the little hamlet of Nisula a ghost town.

It sits right on the base of the Keweenaw Peninsula in Houghton County. Finnish settlers began arriving here from Baraga in 1894 and named the new community 'Faro'. Nine years later, in 1903, a post office was implemented and one of the first settlers, August Nisula, became its postmaster. It was decided to re-name 'Faro' in honor of their new postmaster and from then on it was known as 'Nisula' .

That same year, Nisula became a station on the Michigan Central Railroad and the town continued to grow. By 1909 it had a couple of blacksmiths, Methodist Church, farm machinery shop, general store, saloon, and schoolhouse. Farming, feed & grain, and lumber were the main sources of economy.

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By 1915 the population of 225 had dwindled to 150. By 1927 it had risen again to 200.....but once the railroad stopped coming through, that was basically it for Nisula.

Driving thru Nisula in the 2000s, it may be difficult to tell which houses are deserted and which ones are inhabited – except for a very few, they pretty much are in the same condition. The old houses and barns are good photo ops, and especially the old Nisula store which sits right in the heart of downtown (what remains of it) at the junction of Pike Lake Road and M-38.

In the gallery below, you'll see how the town looked around the 1950s, the old church and churchyard, the old lumber company, and a slew of deserted (or are they?) homes.