[2] In 1866, Henry Mather and Peter White acting as agents for a group of investors, purchased the land around Munising and created the Schoolcraft Iron Company.

[2] A stack was built from sandstone quarried locally on Grand Island,[4] furnace machinery was brought in from Newburgh, New York, and about 500 people were employed cutting cordwood.

[3] However, finances for the furnace were shaky, and poor business decisions in 1870 increased the Schoolcraft Iron Company's debt until it collapsed into bankruptcy[5] in October 1870.

[2][3] The furnace was reopened in the fall of that year, and ran for 12 months, making a total of 2500 tons of iron.

[3] The final closing of the Schoolcraft Furnace devastated Munising, and many people in the town left to seek work elsewhere.

The remains of the site are difficult to distinguish; the old road trace is now a hiking trail, and some of the rubble pile can be identified in the now-wooded area.