Below are the sample questions for the 2012 High School Local History Smackdown. (Hint: These are often the questions used during the first round of competition). Question: During the 1850s, many Keweenaw roads were made with wooden planks laid side-by-side. What were these roads called?Answer: Plank roads Question: Calumet & Hecla, Quincy, and Copper Range all constructed libraries for their employees' families. What other amenity did the companies also provide in each of those buildings?Answer: Bathing facilities Question: Chassell, Sidnaw, and Bergland were all settlements dominated by what industry?Answer: Logging or lumber companies Question: Early copper prospectors looked for signs of prehistoric mining by American Indians as an indication of good places to explore for copper. Name one of these tell-tale signs of ancient mining.Answer: Pits or trenches dug into the ground; stone hammers and other tools; scars in the bedrock from fire setting. Question: Name one of the mines owned and operated by the Copper Range Company.Answer: Champion, Baltic, Trimountain, White Pine, Atlantic, Winona, or King Phillip Question: Stamps, hydraulic separators, jigs, wash tables, and slime buddles were all employed in what copper production process?Answer: Milling (concentrating is also an acceptable answer) Question: In the Lake Superior copper mines, machinery accidents were the second biggest killer of the men who worked underground. What accident type was the biggest killer?Answer: Falling rock and other falling material Question: Glaciers broke pieces of copper from exposed rock formations, moved them as the ice expanded, and deposited them as the ice melted. What are those pieces of copper called?Answer: Float copper Question: Solomon Kirkish established a dry goods store in 1913. What town was it in?Answer: Houghton Question: Back in the early years of mining, companies hired young boys to get supplies and run errands for miners. What were these boys called?Answer: Drill boys Question: The Houghton County Traction Company's streetcars served an amusement park located between Hancock and Calumet. It was noted for its modern lighting. What was the name of this amusement park?Answer: Electric Park Question: This Houghton County community got its start in 1861, when Ransom Shelden built a sawmill on the northeast shore of Portage Lake.Answer: Dollar Bay Question: 160 acres of land near Copper Harbor was set aside as a nature preserve in 1973 to protect some of the oldest and largest tress in Michigan. What is the name of this preserve?Answer: Estivant Pines |
Last updated: January 4, 2023