From 1867 to 1891, dirty, noisy Fayette was one of the most productive iron-smelting operations in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The town was built to refine iron ore from U.P. mines for shipping to the steel-making centers of the lower Great Lakes. The operation closed when the charcoal iron market began to decline.

Today, what's left of Fayette rests peacefully amid the scenic limestone cliffs of Snail Shell Harbor -- off of Lake Michigan's Big Bay De Noc -- and the forests of Michigan's Fayette State Park. Of the original town, 20 historic buildings remain -- including the massive furnace complex, town hall, hotel, company office and workers' homes, now preserved as a unique museum village designed to take visitors back in time.

"Ghosts of Snail Shell Harbor" explores this historic townsite.