Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette Jim Flood, owner of the D.S.S.&A. Railroad Depot, in Calumet Township, stands in front of the scaffolding erected around the south end of the 1908 building. Restoration work has been ongoing since 2024.

CALUMET TOWNSHIP – Since Calumet residents Jim Flood and his wife, Stacey, purchased the former D.S.S.&A. (Mineral Range) Depot, on the corner of Ninth and Oak streets, in 2024, they have been working on restoring it.

Projects have included site preparation, structural shoring, landscaping, utility installations, removal of overhanging eaves, construction of the cupola, concrete work, tree removal, road work, clearing the rail line and platform, acquisition of specialized wood shop equipment, and acquisition of timbers/lumber for the overhanging eaves and other projects.

Jim Flood said the goal is to restore the structure to its original 1908 appearance, but in many ways it will be better, due to engineering and structural flaws being addressed.

The original construction had several flaws, said Flood, which contributed to the sagging and detachment of brick layers and structural settling, as well as the overhang roof support brackets pulling away from the building.

Currently, the main restoration project is recreating the brackets for the overhang. So far 14 have been constructed. Thirty-four are required. “The first one was the biggest challenge,” Flood said, “because we had to set up a custom wood shop specifically to build the parts.”

In addition to a planer, a shaper and a large bandsaw, Flood said he built several custom jigs for making the curved portions, along with the vertical and horizontal pieces, and other components. “One of the engineering fixes is the decorative bracket was – decorative. It wasn’t doing its job.”

Iron brackets intended to mount the wooden supports to the exterior walls were not anchored to anything substantial, resulting in the wooden supports separating from the walls. New brackets will be bolted to the horizontal sections of the supports and will pass through the wall and be secured to iron plates, preventing them from pulling away in the future.

A cupola once adorned the main roof and was removed at some point. Flood recently completed a reproduction of the cupola, which will be installed in the future.

For Flood, restoring the depot is a passion. It will not house a restaurant or a brewpub. The first floor will be opened up for special events such as graduation parties, wedding receptions, family reunions and similar events, as well as community events. “What we want to do is make this space for the community to enjoy,” Flood said. “We want to provide lodging upstairs, similar to the Oak Street Inn, located across the street from the depot, which we’ve done for 23 years.”

Flood said he wants the community and the public to understand that historical structures, like the depot, cannot be taken for granted. “This is 100% about preserving what we consider to be one of the finest historic structures in the Copper Country,” he said.

The former depot is significant to the history of the Calumet area and to the state. Nearly every immigrant or immigrant family arriving in Calumet at the turn of the 20th century arrived by train. At the time, Calumet averaged five passenger trains per day coming and going. Built in 1908, the depot served rail traffic for the next 60 years.

“I want people to come here and feel — not just the inside, but the outside, too, all the away around – as that same feel and function that it (had) in 1908.”