Fayette Historic State Park

On Big Bay de Noc in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Fayette preserves a former iron-smelting town that grew during the post-Civil War boom and operated from 1867 to 1891 as a major charcoal pig iron works for the Jackson Iron Company. Built around blast furnaces, a dock, and charcoal kilns, the settlement supported a diverse community of nearly 500 people and produced 229,288 tons of iron before weakening markets and exhausted hardwood supplies brought closure. The abandoned town later became a resort and fishing village, and after Michigan acquired it in 1959, it developed into a state park that combines restored historic buildings, recreation, dramatic dolomite cliffs, and exceptionally ancient Northern White Cedar trees.

Michigan · United States