The Franklin Mining Company began operations in 1857 in Hancock, Michigan. It consisted of two shafts located directly north of the Pewabic Mine and worked the Pewabic Lode. Because management neglected to purchase the land north and west of their property, it soon became boxed in by the Quincy Mining Co. and by 1880 had exhausted its share of the Pewabic Lode on its property. In 1894, the company purchased land originally held by the Albany and Boston Mining Company and renamed it Franklin Jr. Mine. In 1909 the Franklin Mining Company was sold to the Quincy Mining Company. __In recognizing the need for local government at the south end of Torch Lake, the Houghton County Board of Supervisors in July, 1886, approved the creation of Torch Lake Township; the only population center at this time was around the mills and smelter at Grover (renamed South Lake Linden in 1889 and renamed Hubbell in 1902). Torch Lake Township today is on the southern shores of Torch Lake, along the Torch Lake River, southern Portage Lake and the Portage Canal to Lake Superior. It enjoys a long Lake Superior shoreline.