Ghost Building in a Ghost Town - Keweenaw Peninsula

Not far off Hwy. 41 in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, is the quiet Boston Pond Nature Area. We stumbled upon this little gem while driving around backroads searching for treasure spots.

As soon as we pulled into the boat launch at Boston Pond we spotted a bald eagle gliding along the tree line. We watch this magnificent bird soar around for about ten minutes. Sadly, we were unable to capture clear photos of him while he was in the air. He landed in a tree on the opposite side of the pond quite a distance from where we were parked. This photo was taken using maximum zoom on our digital camera. Aren't these majestic national treasures just amazing?

We accessed the boat launch from Boston Road (F-19). This map does not show the boat launch or the 2-track that took us to it.

Interestingly, across the pond from the boat launch we could see some traffic on Hwy. 41. We have driven that highway many, many times and have not noticed this beautiful nature area a single time.

There is not really a lot to see and the pond looks almost like a flooding area of some type. But, there are bald eagles nearby for you to see.

Not far from the Boston Pond boat launch road, on the west side of F-19 (Boston Road), we found a ghost building. The building is visible from the road and what first caught our eye was a a very old cart of some type. Although rusty, with some bent metal, this cart seemed to be surprisingly well preserved.

Once we turned on a 2-track next to where the cart can be seen, we realized that what appeared to be an old barn, was much more. We've done some research in an attempt to find some history on this particular unique structure to no avail. There were no trespassing signs posted, so we did not get out of our vehicle to walk around.

Boston, Michigan, however has a fascinating history. This so-called ghost town was settled in 1893 on the Mineral Range Railroad (later called Soo). In 1909 the population reached 100 and the town's name was changed to Demmon. Boston (or Demmon) have a claim to fame as the home of the "the biggest man in the world". "Big Louie Moilanen" stood 8'4" and weighed 450 lbs. He lived in a nearby ghost town, Salo, but worked in the Boston mines as a youth. Big Louie died in 1926 at 26 years old. It is said that one of his suits is on display in a Calumet museum and that his gravesite is in Wasa Cemetery near Hancock. We will be checking out the Calumet museum and the cemetery (if we can find it). The cemetery is not showing on Google maps. (source: Ghosttowns.com).