This Isolated Michigan Ghost Town Once Had 13 Schools
Taking a roadtrip anywhere in the UP is an adventure; no matter what backroads you take, there’s history down every one, whether mining or lumber. There are so many mining towns, past and present, hidden, forgotten, and out in the open. It’s a real gas to plan a route to hit as many of these as you can....at least, the ones you’re able to find!
One of these old towns is Toivola in Houghton County.
Where did that name come from and what does it mean? No, it's not someone’s last name. It was founded in 1894 by a group of people from Finland who named it after their word for “vale of hope”. They felt they needed to find a place where hope was eternal, as they had fled Finland to escape the Great Famine of the 1860s.
Toivola was originally a lumber camp and a station on the Copper Range Railroad. Toivola became extremely successful and ended up with an unheard-of total of thirteen schools!
Toivola is now considered a ghost town, found four and a half miles north of Donken on M-26. Toivola still celebrates the Summer Solstice festival of Juhannus. Also, there's an Artesian well down Misery Bay Road near the old Misery Bay School where you can get a drink and check out even more old structures.
No open businesses at this moment in Toivola – the old store is closed and deteriorating but the post office is still operating, which you'll see when you drive by on M-26.