North of the little town of Mohawk in the Keweenaw on US-41 is a sign for the Cliff Cemetery. Driving past the sign you don’t see a cemetery, but it is there hidden in the woods. After hiking about 50 yards into the forest you see tombstones among the trees. The ground is covered by green leafy plants which I think is wintergreen. Paths through the thick growth wind through the old cemetery to the various graves sites.
In the back of the cemetery is an old stone foundation left over from the chapel that once stood in the old cemetery. The cemetery is from the town of Cliff which sprang up when copper was mined from the nearby cliff. After the mine closed the town’s population dwindled away to nothing but the deceased citizens. I am not sure if it’s accurate, but I was told the church that stood in the cemetery was moved to the town of Pheonix and is the church HERE. How the wintergreen took over the old cemetery remains a secret that it’s residents are not willing to tell.
P.S. The Cemetery off US-41 is the Catholic cemetery. There is another cemetery on Cliff Drive. I was not able to explore that one since water covered the entrance and it was too deep for my jeep to cross it.
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