Charles K. Hyde grew up in Berkshire County, in Western Massachusetts. He earned his Bachelor's degree in History from the University of Massachusetts in 1966 and his Ph.D. in Economic History from the University of Wisconsin in 1971. His dissertation addressed “Technological change and the development of the British iron industry, 1700-1870.” He taught briefly at Boston University and arrived at Wayne State University in 1974. Professor Hyde has done significant work in the field of industrial archeology, including more than 70 projects involving the documentation of historic buildings or structures. His 1978 survey of industrial sites in the Upper Peninsula identified the significant material culture remains at the Quincy mine site. This encouraged a subsequent intensive survey of the site by Hyde and other historians, including current Michigan Technological University professor Larry Lankton. Hyde and Lankton coauthored "Old Reliable: An Illustrated History of the Quincy Mining Company" in 1982 and Hyde went on to publish "Copper For America: The United States Copper Industry from Colonial Times to the 1990s," a survey of the United States copper industry, in 1998.