The first farming efforts in the western Upper Peninsula were begun among the Native Americans by missionaries before the Treaty of La Pointe opened the region to mining and development in 1843.

At that time, there were two vessels plying Lake Superior, a brig, the John Jacob Astor, owned by the American Fur Company, and the Algonquin, owned by the Cleveland and North Western Lake Company, a fishing and fur trade venture. The companies built these vessels for transportation of their own wares and supplies, but when mining speculators began flooding the region, they needed supplies, as well, and it became the responsibility of these two fur companies to use their ships to bring supplies to the locations, all along the south shore of Lake Superior, from Sault Ste. Marie to Duluth and all points along the way.

It did not occur to many how precarious the supply line actually was until September 27, 1844, when the larger of the two ships, the Astor, was broken up on the rocks in Copper Harbor when it was caught in a gale. The ship was grounded while unloading provisions for the new military post, Fort Wilkins.

The consequence of the wreck of the brig was immediately obvious. The post garrison was placed on tight rations. Compounding the post commander’s problem was he was compelled to loan provisions to the mining crew of the Pittsburgh and Boston company, which had a dozen workers, and some women and children, at the location near the fort.

Down the coast, at the Lake Superior Copper Company location, at Eagle River, mine superintendent Charles Gratiot stopped operations at the site to secure a large boat to retrieve that company’s supplies from the fort, which were aboard the Astor when it was wrecked. He then had to take that same boat all the way to Sault Ste. Marie to bring up more of the company’s supplies. Other mining companies would not be caught in that situation again.

The Annual Report of the Pittsburgh and Boston Mining Company for January 1849, detailed ongoing developments at the Cliff Mine, near Eagle River. The report included a paragraph on page 9, which read:

“Fifty acres of land have been improved, twenty-five of which are under cultivation; and it is the design of the Directors steadily to progress with the improvements of the surface, until a sufficient quantity of land shall have been cleared to furnish hay and pasturage for the teams, and an adequate supply of vegetables for the inhabitants.”

By 1852, the farm at the Cliff had been expanded to 125 acres, and produced 1,000 bushels of oats 2,000 bushels of turnips, 250 bushels of potatoes, and 40 tons of hay. On the other end of the copper range, in the Ontonagon mining district, other companies were doing the same.

The Minesota Mining Company, located 12 miles up the Ontonagon River from the shore of Lake Superior, had begun operations in late 1849.

The Annual Report of that company for 1860 stated that during the spring and summer of 1859, 70 acres of land had been cleared, bringing the total to 400 acres under cultivation.

“Our farming product was about 2,200 bushels of potatoes, 1,200 bushels of turnips and 170 tons of hay and oats,” the report states. “The season of 1859 was a very unfavorable one for farming operations; with frosts, excessive rains, and hail storms, the crops of potatoes and turnips were almost a failure compared with the product of former years.”

A year later, the farm was expanded again, making 550 acres under cultivation. The report added:

“The residents on the place also raised considerable crops of potatoes, turnips, &c. in addition.”

In 1882, the farm at the Minesota produced 4,000 bushels of potatoes, a yield of 200 bushels to the acre.

Meanwhile at the Nonesuch Mine, about 50 acres of land were under cultivation, primarily for hay for the company’s teams and other livestock.

Not only was a lack of shipping a risk that could leave a frontier community facing starvation, the cost of shipping food such distances from agricultural regions could place the cost of many items beyond the reach of many residents.

Not only mining companies maintained farms and gardens, but most local residents also cultivated gardens to supplement what was available at local stores. Farming throughout the four county area was a dire necessity throughout the 19th century.