Archives Research
A Treasure Trove of Information
The winter snows may have put a stop to our outdoor work at the Calumet Air Force Station, but there has still been plenty of activity going on behind the scenes. A group of us spent several days digging through the archives at the Keweenaw National Historical Park and Michigan Tech Library to find any historical documents related to the Air Force station. The main priority were any original blueprints, schematics, and maps that could help us better understand the existing infrastructure on the property and begin the repair and construction work. We also wanted any contemporary news articles related to the station and the Keweenaw Academy. And thanks to the excellent work of the archive staff and locals who saved a lot of documents from the base when it closed down, we hit the jackpot! We found hundreds of blueprints from the entire history of the Calumet Air Force Station documenting everything from sewer and water lines, construction and remodeling plans, wiring schematics, even the layout of the lighting and computer terminals in the BUIC radar control room. In addition to these documents we also found dozens of newspaper clippings relating to the history of the station and the personnel who lived and worked there.
We are still sorting through all of the documents we found and are getting every bit of useful information from them that we can. Due to the wide date range that the base was in use, a lot of the blueprints conflict with each other or are no longer accurate. Most of the blueprints focus on specific structures, so it's like a puzzle piecing all of them together to map out the underground utilities and infrastructure. There are also plenty of gaps in the documents with no blueprints at all for some buildings, so there is still a lot of missing information that would be incredibly helpful to us. This is why we have submitted several Freedom of Information Act Requests (FOIAs) to various groups like the Army Corps of Engineers for any original documents they may have in their archives. At this point we want to acquire any and every bit of of information we can find regarding the history of the Calumet Air Force Station. If you happen to be in possession of any relevant documents, photos, news stories, etc we would love to hear from you! Please reach out to us through our Contact Page!
Special thanks to the Keweenaw National Historical Park and Michigan Tech Archives for their help with this research!
