Douglass Houghton and Michigan’s Copper Discovery
On this day in history, October 14, 1845 Dr. Douglass Houghton died at just 36 years old. He was Michigan’s pioneering state geologist and the man often called the “father of copper mining in the United States.” In 1840, Houghton conducted a detailed survey of the Upper Peninsula’s mineral resources. His 1841 report included more than 27 pages on copper and copper ore, famously noting that “the copper ores are not only of superior quality, but also that their associations are such as to render them easily reduced.” He even observed that the ore he tested was richer than that being mined in Cornwall, England.
Born in 1809 in Troy, New York, Houghton displayed a lifelong fascination with the natural world despite a slight speech impediment and facial scars from a youthful experiment with gunpowder. He earned a degree and teaching appointment at Rensselaer School, studied medicine, and quickly became a well-known figure in Detroit after moving there in 1830. Houghton explored the Lake Superior region in the early 1830s, providing medical care to Native American tribes and collecting extensive geological and botanical information.
State’s First Geologist
Appointed Michigan’s first state geologist in 1839, Houghton also became the first professor of geology, mineralogy, and chemistry at the University of Michigan. His work mapping and evaluating Michigan’s natural resources laid the groundwork for the Keweenaw Peninsula copper boom. Tragically, while conducting a federal-funded survey of the Lake Superior region in 1845, Houghton drowned in a storm near Eagle River at just 36 years old. His death shocked the state and the nation.
Today, his legacy lives on in the names of Houghton, Houghton County, Houghton Lake, Douglass Houghton Falls, and Houghton Hall at Michigan Technological University. Houghton’s meticulous surveys and observations sparked an era of mining and settlement that shaped Michigan’s economy and history.
Even though he never completed a comprehensive final report, Houghton’s contributions to science, education, and public service remain remarkable reminders of a life dedicated to discovery and knowledge.
