Isle Royale Forums

On my May trip to the island this year, I poked around the west side of Daisy Farm: Shelter #1 and the trail to the (new?) ranger's residence. Along the way, I found some mysterious concrete foundations. I'd like to know if anyone can tell me the history of them.

Here's Shelter #1, which is hidden behind some trees to the west of the dock. I didn't even realize it existed until this trip. The shelter appears to be built on (or almost next to) footings from some kind of tower. You can see three of them in this photo, and the 4th seems to be under the shelter's steps. There are the cut-off remains of some steel supports embedded in the concrete. I've seen these kinds of footings on fire towers and old lifeguard stations, but neither of those really make sense to build here.
Following the trail along the harbor shoreline to the west, I found this footing, which looks like it could have been for an old dock. It's not that far from the current dock.
Following the trail, you eventually come to the ranger's residence (not to fear, there was no ranger in residence yet). Just behind that residence there's a short trail that leads to an outhouse, with an amusing sign warning that "This trail does NOT lead to Moskey Basin! Turn around and go back!" Of course, I wondered what the trail did lead to, so I followed it past the outhouse into a small clearing. At the edge of this clearing, I found this strange square footing with a notch cut into it. In the trees behind this one, there was another identical footing rotated at an angle. Out of all of these concrete artifacts, this is the one I can't figure out any explanation for.
Does anyone have any idea what these could be?

Just a guess, but there was a CCC camp location at Daisy Farm in the 1930's. Perhaps the concrete foundations are related to that.

I agree with treeplanter that most likely origin is the CCC camp. They were considered temporary then but they became quite large (in Island speak anyway). Here are 2 pictures of the Daisy Farm CCC Camp taken in 1938 and 1939: From what I've read, an even larger camp was first erected somewhere near Siskiwit Bay:

Thanks, both! CCC origins make sense. There is a watertower in Ed's first photo that could account for the 4 concrete footings.

dcclark wrote: Mon Jun 10, 2019 6:42 am Thanks, both! CCC origins make sense. There is a watertower in Ed's first photo that could account for the 4 concrete footings.

And from that same picture of Ed's, the apron for the dock is your second picture.


The CCC story on the island and more pictures HERE

Midwest Ed wrote: Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:35 pm I agree with treeplanter that most likely origin is the CCC camp. They were considered temporary then but they became quite large (in Island speak anyway). Here are 2 pictures of the Daisy Farm CCC Camp taken in 1938 and 1939:
Daisy Farm 1939 NVIC-30-205.jpg

Daisy Farm 1938 NVIC-30-131.jpg

From what I've read, an even larger camp was first erected somewhere near Siskiwit Bay:
Siskiwit CCC Camp.jpg

The CCC camp at siskiwit was near the Mead Logging camp which was near the long point fishery. You can see the location Near the bottom of this page

Midwest Ed wrote: Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:35 pm From what I've read, an even larger camp was first erected somewhere near Siskiwit Bay:

The CCC camp was about 200m inland from the SW corner of Siskiwit Bay, which is quite a ways from Long Point. The Feldtman Ridge trail skirts the edge of the old camp area, and there are a few remnants scattered around (a rusty pipe, a few pier foundations). The pictures of the camp show the buildings on a slight slope, with the bay and Senter Point in the background and the Greenstone in the far background to the North. (http://iri.forest.mtu.edu/CCC.htm)

The area south and west of Siskiwit- and thus north and west of Long Point- are riddled with old logging trails and/or firebreaks; you can still see them on Google Earth as lines running north-south and east-west.