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Museums & History

Historical Attractions  |  Keweenaw National Historical Park  |  Mine Tours  |  Mineral Museum

Fort Wilkins  |  Mansion Tour  |  Tech Archives  |  Ghost Towns

Tens of thousands of immigrants from Finland, Cornwall and other European countries “went West” to Michigan’s northernmost peninsula to seek their fortunes in the mines, forests and towns. Most of that fortune stuffed the bank accounts of mine owners and lumber barons.

But one-industry towns are risky. Rising production costs, a failed miners’ strike in 1913, followed by the Great Depression caused jobs and people to vanish. Now, these phantom towns and industrial relics are vivid reminders of how fleeting natural resources … and prosperity … can be. While a large share of the population left the region, much of their legacy remains to be rediscovered and experienced.

START YOUR JOURNEY AT THE KEWEENAW NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK.

The Keweenaw National Historical Park (KNHP) preserves and shares the story of the Keweenaw’s copper booms and busts through over twenty Heritage Sites. Each helps tell of the rise, domination and decline of this area’s copper mining industry. Embodying stories of hardship, ingenuity, struggle and success, each site allows you to explore the role mining played in people’s lives here and afar.  Be sure to visit the KNHP Visitors’ Center in Calumet, MI to learn about upcoming exhibits, programs and to help plan your visit.  

TOUR AN UNDERGROUND COPPER MINE.

Aerial view of the historic Quincy Mine in the Keweenaw

There’s no better way to understand what life was like for the miners who toiled to produce the copper ore than to participate in a tour of one of the Keweenaw’s historic copper mines.  During the copper boom of the late 1800s, mines sprung to life across the region.  But many operated only a short time due to a challenging competitive environment, technological shifts, and the constantly changing price of copper. 

Luckily, visitors can still experience life below ground by visiting the historic Quincy Mine near Hancock, MI or take a self-guided tour of the Delaware Mine near Mohawk, MI.  

  • Guided tours at Quincy Mine allow visitors to travel back into the late 1800s and experience the ingenuity, technology and persaverence required to make the mine one of the most reliable and profitable copper mines of its day.  Encounter the Norderg Steam Hoist, the world’s largest steam-powered hoist engine, which made it possible to extend the No. 2 Mine Shaft 92 levels underground! Then ride the Cog Rail Tram, which passengers down the steep hill that overlooks the Portage Lake Lift Bridge to the East Adit (mine entrance) where your underground experience begins!
  • Located 12 miles south of Copper Harbor, the Delaware Copper Mine dates from 1847-1887. Eight million pounds of copper were removed from the five shafts that reached a depth of 1,400 feet with ten levels. The tour takes you down shaft No. 1 to the first level. You’ll see pure veins of copper exposed in the walls of the mine. Model train, rock & mineral and mining displays, antique engines, petting zoo and walking trails. Museum and gift shop at the mine site. Open daily June thru October. 

A group of people takes an underground copper mine tour at Quincy Mine.

The Quincy Mine offers both surface and underground tours so that visitors can experience the life of copper miners in the late 1800s.

EXPLORE OUR GHOST TOWNS

Remnants of vanished mining communities exist throughout the Keweenaw landscape.  As mines closed, entire communities migrated to other parts of the Keweenaw and the country. Much of the stone architecture remains along the region’s trail systems and within the regrown forests of the Keweenaw.  Many of these sites are accessible to the public interested in visiting the ruins and hoping to find native copper among the mounds of discarded mine rock piles. Explore our ghost towns and rediscover important history of the area. 

DISCOVER A TREASURE TROVE IN THE MICHIGAN TECH UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES.

Whether you are interested in 19th-century immigration, mining, boom-and-bust towns or tracing your own family history in the Upper Peninsula, this Houghton site offers photos to newspapers on microfilm dating back to the 1850s. The Michigan Tech University Archives and Historical Collections provides a treasure trove of historical documents and images for visitors interested in conducting research on the Keweenaw’s storied past. 

TOUR THE HOME OF A COPPER BARON.

While the village of Laurium is not a ghost town, it is the site of large homes that rose up from the hey-day of copper mining and lumbering. The most opulent is the Laurium Manor, a 45-room mansion built in 1908 for Calumet & Arizona Mining Co. owners Thomas H. & Cornelia Hoatson. Today it is a bed-and-breakfast inn that in addition to being available for overnight stays offers daily self-guided tours between Memorial Weekend and late October. Visiting the Laurium Manor Inn is an excellent way to see the disparity of wealth during the height of copper boom-and-bust years. Click here for more information about tours of the Laurium Manor.  

Laurium Manor Inn

Visitors can opt for a tour of the opulent Laurium Manor, which belonged to a local copper baron during the early 1900s.

FORT WILKINS STATE PARK

Built in 1844 and abandoned just two years late, Fort Wilkins was once an active U.S. Army post constructed to keep the peace in Michigan’s Copper Country. The fort was briefly regarrisoned in the late 1860’s. Today, Fort Wilkins State Park is a well-preserved example of mid-19th century army life on the northern frontier. Through exhibits, audiovisual programs and living history interpretation, visitors may explore the daily routine of military service, experience the hardships of frontier isolation and discover the lifeways of another era. The park also includes the Copper Harbor Lighthouse Complex with a restored 1848 lightkeeper’s dwelling, 1866 lighthouse, and interpretive trails.

Several additional attractions are nearby.  The Estivant Pines (a stand of virgin white pines), and The Delaware Mine (an old copper mine with self-guided tours), are located near the park. Brockway Mountain Drive offers scenic views of Lake Superior, inland lakes and panoramic views of the Keewenaw Penninsula. Waterfalls, day trips to Isle Royale, shipwrecks, museums, shops and restaurants are all nearby.

A.E. SEAMAN MINERAL MUSEUM

With about 4,000 specimens on display and frequently changing exhibits, the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum located on the campus of Michigan Tech showcases amazing minerals from the Great Lakes Region and around the world. Visitors can access the world’s largest public display of minerals from the Great Lakes region, one of the best fluorescent mineral exhibits in the U.S., and a world-record 17-ton native copper slab (not open in winter)! The museum is the “official Mineralogical Museum of Michigan” and a Heritage Site of the Keweenaw National Historical Park.

Minerals on display in a museum.

HISTORICAL ATTRACTIONS

The Keweenaw’s history draws visitors from across the globe.  Discover over sixty historical attractions that tell the story of the Copper Country’s incredible past.  

Ghost Towns

It is serenely quiet as you cautiously walk into the deserted towns located up and down the Keweenaw…

Whether you like to explore on your own or have a more personalized experience and take a guided tour, the Keweenaw offers it all. From underground mine tours to…