Station: Fayette, MI

Fayette was an old town on the Garden Peninsula of Lake Michigan in Delta County. The town was settled in 1867 by the Jackson Iron Company, which had charcoal iron smelters here. Pig iron was made here from iron ore mined in Negaunee. The furnace was dismantled in 1891. The town site now hosts the Fayette State Park and historical site. [MPN] It is located about five miles southwest of Garden.

Fayette did not have rail service which was connected with the rail network. The closest rail service was five miles north of Fayette at Garden. The Garden Bay railway ran briefly from 1815-1917 from Garden north to a connection with the Soo Line at Cooks in Schoolcraft County. Prior to that, it was a lumber company railroad.

Photo Info: A logging camp with railroad train, somewhere in Delta County.

Notes

Time Line

1867. The Jackson Iron Company builds a charcoal iron furnace here. Iron ore is shipped by rail from Negaunee to Escanaba, and then barged across the bay to Fayette for smelting. [EDP-1963-0629]

Industry

• Jackson Iron Company - charcoal iron smelting furnace