We recently returned to Keweenaw National Historical Park in Michigan after an absence of nearly a decade following our first visit in 2007. The national historical park covers a substantial amount of real estate as it spans much of the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This large expanse makes it likely a visitor will miss at least some of the park's important features, one of the reasons we chose to visit a second time.

In addition, with a decade between visits there were certain to be several changes or additions to explore. In our case the most important addition was a new National Park Service visitor center in the town of Calumet.

Michigan's Colorful Copper Country

Keweenaw National Historical Park interprets the colorful history and preserves important features of what was once one of our country's most productive mining regions. Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula that juts into Lake Superior was at one time the source of a majority of America's copper output. By the 1870s, over 75 percent of the country's copper originated from mines located here. Copper from the peninsula was of such purity that early Native Americans had used it directly from the ground to make beads and ornaments. The quantity and quality of the copper attracted businessmen from the East Coast and workers from afar.

From their commercial beginnings in the mid-1800s, the mines that were sometimes over a mile underground produced wealth for their owners and jobs for immigrants. The area's first large-scale commercial mine near Eagle River opened in 1845 and produced over $2.5 million in earnings for investors before closing in 1875. Miners from Finland, Croatia, Sweden, Poland, and several dozen other countries came to work in deep underground tunnels where they mined the world's largest deposits of pure elemental copper. Other immigrants arrived to work as grocers, bakers, barbers, and storekeepers. Businesses and towns sprang up throughout the peninsula to provide goods and services needed by thousands of mine workers.

By the early 1900s, lower-cost strip mines in the West were challenging the Keweenaw Peninsula for dominance, forcing mine owners in the peninsula to lower expenses and increase efficiency. A strike by disgruntled miners in 1914 followed a decade later by the Great Depression and then World War II hammered the mining industry here until, by 1968, only a single mine remained in operation. The peninsula's last mine closed in 1996. Although the mines are now silent, the national historical park has preserved the industry's history for visitors to learn about a unique region of the country and the people who migrated there to make a new life.

The Quincy Mine's shaft-rockhouse where copper rock was crushed and separated/David and Kay Scott

The National Historical Park

Two of the peninsula's major copper mining areas became national historic landmark districts in 1989, three years prior to the U.S. Congress creating Keweenaw National Historical Park. Unlike most units of the National Park Service in which the federal government owns the land and all or most of the facilities on the land, Keweenaw National Historical Park is a cooperative effort with the majority of the land and park facilities owned by nonprofits and local government entities. The National Park Service does claim title to some of the land and facilities within the boundaries of the national historical park, but the overall proportion is relatively small.

Heritage sites within the park include copper mines, a theatre, a former mine owner's mansion, two state parks, restored log cabins that once served as home to mine workers, heritage centers, a lighthouse, and university archives of historical documents from several of the local mining companies. Visitors can take mine tours, visit historic copper mining sites, tour a historic mansion, visit a lighthouse, and take in a theatre presentation. Many of these activities require a fee, but the cost is generally nominal.

Of particular interest are the park's two major historic districts: Calumet and Quincy. The latter historic district offers guided tours of an underground mine and the building housing the huge steam-powered drum and cable that hoisted buckets of ore and cars of miners in and out of the mine. The building where copper rock was separated and crushed is open for self-guided tours. Visitors are free to explore the area without charge. Visitors can choose to take both an underground and surface tour, or just the lower-cost surface tour.

The historical park's Calumet Unit concentrates on telling the story of the area's immigrants who worked in the mines or provided goods and services to those who did. The NPS Calumet Visitor Center in a late-1880s lodge hall is of particular interest. Interactive exhibits in the three-story visitor center interpret the story of the area's immigrants including their life away from work. The building itself is worth a visit if only to admire the extensive restoration and learn of its colorful history. The former lodge hall is part of the Calument National Historic Landmark District that also includes the Keweenaw Heritage Center, the Copper Country Firefighters Museum, Calumet Theatre, and the italian Hall Memorial Park. NPS offers ranger-guided walking tours of the district.

A Visit To The Keweenaw Peninsula

A person could easily spend a couple of days exploring the many sites in this national historical park. Exploring the grounds and taking the mine tour at Quincy would consume most of a morning or afternoon. Walking the streets and visiting sites in the town of Calumet and we are talking about another half day. This doesn't take into account a leisurely drive to Copper Harbor.

Also, consider the peninsula serves as the main departure point for Isle Royale National Park that lies in the northeast section of Lake Superior. Boat and seaplane transportation to the park are available from the town of Houghton, while boat service departs from Copper Harbor, a small village on the peninsula's tip. Boat service to the island is also available from Grand Portage, Minnesota. This latter trip offers the most complete look at the island's shoreline, but requires nearly a full day of sailing to arrive at Rock Harbor, location for the park's main lodging facility.

Exhibits in the Calumet Visitor Center/Kay and David Scott