”We embarked on the… schooner Swallow… [and] at the end of the seven days from the Sault sighted Copper Harbor, the most important and best known point on Lake Superior.” A Pioneer, 1846 By the mid-1840s Copper . . . — — Map (db m153811) HM
It is my painful duty to inform you of the loss of the Brig Astor… Her keel is badly broken [and] her rudder broke in two. Captain Benjamin Stannard September 27, 1844 On Friday, September 20, 1844, the John Jacob . . . — — Map (db m153600) HM
"The finest vessel afloat" In 1835, two years before the Territory of Michigan becomes a state, the American Fur Company builds a small schooner at Sault Ste. Marie and launches it on Lake Superior. The boat is called “the finest vessel . . . — — Map (db m153599) HM
On Brockway Mountain Drive 1.8 miles west of Gratiot Street (State Highway 26), on the left when traveling west.
A Favorite Drive Brockway Mountain Drive is one of the Copper Country's most popular driving attractions. In winter, it is also a favorite destination for snowmobilers and skiers. Built during the Great Depression, this road reflected a larger . . . — — Map (db m153989) HM
On Gratiot Street (U.S. 41) at 3rd Street, on the right when traveling east on Gratiot Street.
Early in 1843 the U.S. War Department built the “Government House” and established a Federal Land Agency on Porter’s Island – the small narrow island lying just off shore. Prospectors found small deposits of copper ore and native . . . — — Map (db m152893) HM
On Brockway Mountain Drive 4 miles west of Gratiot Street (State Highway 26).
Lake Superior is famous for its wild beauty and extreme weather, but it's also a busy maritime corridor. There are many types of boats that frequent the waters around the Keweenaw Peninsula. Chances are you can see a ship right now. What's on . . . — — Map (db m153998) HM
Douglass Houghton, Michigan's first
state geologist, conducted a systematic
geological survey of Michigan and the
Upper Peninsula from 1837 to 1845. In
the area around Copper Harbor once
mined by Indigenous people, Houghton
sampled veins of . . . — — Map (db m254442) HM
On Gratiot Street (U.S. 41) at 3rd Street, on the right when traveling east on Gratiot Street.
The influx of miners and speculators caused concern about the lack of law and order in the region. So in March 1844, Secretary of War, William Wilkins, dispatched two companies of infantry to build and occupy a fort, that bears his name, one mile . . . — — Map (db m152892) HM
On Gratiot Street (U.S. 41) at 3rd Street, on the right when traveling east on Gratiot Street.
Isle Royale is an archipelago comprising more than 200 islands 45 miles north of Keweenaw County. The main island is the largest in Lake Superior, 45 miles long and 9 miles wide. There are 70 lakes on Isle Royale, the largest, Siskiwit Lake. Rock . . . — — Map (db m152894) HM
Market demand drives the cost of Lake passage. In 1844, cabin passengers aboard the Astor pay $10 to travel from Sault Ste. Marie to Copper Harbor (about $210 today). Conditions are cramped, dirty and made worse by rough seas. ”Too . . . — — Map (db m153778) HM
Near this site in September 1844, the John Jacob Astor was driven upon the rocks by gale-swept seas. Every assistance was rendered by the officers and men of Fort Wilkins. They kept up fires as nigh the Shore as they could… and watched . . . — — Map (db m153810) HM
On U.S. 41 at Mandan Road, on the right when traveling east on U.S. 41.
Early Indian footpaths became the trails for explorers, missionaries and fur traders, who came to carve out homes in Michigan’s wilderness. The early settlers began to widen and improve these trails, which became the majority of Michigan’s primary . . . — — Map (db m152799) HM
On Brockway Mountain Drive 4 miles west of Gratiot Street (State Highway 26), on the right when traveling west.
An ancient vanished race mined native copper hundreds of years ago in countless pits and trenches scattered among the hills from Copper Harbor to Ontonagon and on Isle Royale. The explorer, Jacques Cartier, reported in 1536 that Indians on the St. . . . — — Map (db m154000) HM
The discovery of copper and dangers of navigation created a demand for lighthouses on Lake Superior. Built in 1848 and replaced by the present structure in the 1860s, the Copper Harbor lighthouse was among the first beacons on Lake Superior. Now . . . — — Map (db m153808) HM
On Manganese Road just south of Gratiot Street (U.S. 41), on the right when traveling south.
When white settlers arrived in Michigan, vast stands of old growth white pine covered the land. Much of the state's initial prosperity relied on processing these trees into useful lumber. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to walk among . . . — — Map (db m153788) HM
Near Brockway Mountain Drive 0.5 miles west of Gratiot Street (State Highway 26).
For thousands of years, the view from here was of a densely forested landscape. American Indians hunted, fished, and collected copper for centuries. But in 1843, the Keweenaw mining rush was on, and everything changed. Sheltered by Porters . . . — — Map (db m153991) HM
On Brockway Mountain Drive 4 miles west of Gratiot Street (State Highway 26).
Take one rift valley enriched by the largest deposit of native copper on Earth. Add a handful of 19th-century American ingenuity and industry. Watch America light up as copper wire from Keweenaw mines powers the "electrical revolution" across . . . — — Map (db m153997) HM
Near Delaware Road (State Highway 586) 0.2 miles north of U.S. 41.
The Delaware mine was a failure, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Spurred on by the great success of the nearby Cliff and Central mines, the Northwest Company, the Pennsylvania Mining Company, the Delaware Mining Company, the Conglomerate Mining . . . — — Map (db m153983) HM
On State Highway 26 at North Street, on the right when traveling north on State Highway 26.
Horace Greeley landed on June 15, 1847. He came on the Independence, the first propeller boat on Lake Superior. It had a maximum speed of 5 miles per hour. That night, Greeley reported, the harbor was frozen over for some distance from shore. There . . . — — Map (db m76313) HM
Near Lighthouse Road north of East North Street, on the right when traveling north.
Eagle Harbor was an important port of refuge on this North Shore of the Keweenaw Peninsula during the last half of the nineteenth century. Settlers, speculators and miners arrived at the two docks, and large boats were loaded with unprocessed . . . — — Map (db m153140) HM
On State Highway 26 at South Street, on the right when traveling south on State Highway 26.
Built by the Eagle Harbor Mining Company in 1845, Eagle Harbor House opened to boarders and travelers in 1846, the beginning of the Keweenaw copper rush. It is the last remaining log building of the first four in Eagle Harbor. In 1852 German . . . — — Map (db m106232) HM
On Lighthouse Road north of East North Street, on the right when traveling north.
In the mid-19th century, when roads to this area were almost non-existent, the infant community of Eagle Harbor saw a dramatic increase in waterborne commerce, including incoming settlers and supplies and outgoing shipments of copper and logs. . . . — — Map (db m152900) HM
A fog signal was installed in this building on November 30, 1895. Its purpose was to warn mariners of rock and reef along this treacherous Lake Superior coast. The invaluable signal was activated during periods of fog when the light in the tower was . . . — — Map (db m153149) HM
Near Lighthouse Road north of East North Street, on the right when traveling north.
"Folding Stock Anchor of the Great Lakes"
This 3,000 pound anchor was snagged in Bete Gris by the "John G. Munson* of the U.S. Steel Company in October 1983. It was entangled in the "Munson's" anchor along with about 250 feet of . . . — — Map (db m226591) HM
On Sand Dunes Drive (State Highway 26) 3.1 miles west of Front Street, on the right when traveling west.
Lake Superior was discovered in 1629 by the French explorer Brule. Largest expanse of fresh water in the world. The water of Lake Superior is chemically pure. Area 31,800 sq. miles; 1500 miles of coast; greatest length, 350 miles; greatest breadth, . . . — — Map (db m152798) HM
Near Lighthouse Road north of East North Street, on the right when traveling north.
A U.S. Life Saving Service Station was established directly across the harbor entrance from this Light Station in 1912. The well trained, locally recruited crew accomplished many heroic rescues on stormy Lake Superior complementing the light and fog . . . — — Map (db m153056) HM
Near Lighthouse Road north of East North Street, on the right when traveling north.
This old-style bell buoy, minus the original bell, is eight feet wide and thirteen feet tall. It weighs approximately 5,000 pounds. It was donated by the U.S. Coast Guard and was transported on the cutter,
"Sundew" , in August 1983. Heavy equipment . . . — — Map (db m226590) HM
On West North Street (State Highway 26) just east of Second Street, on the right when traveling west.
The Eagle Harbor General Store was established by John, Michael and Martin Foley and Michael Smith in 1861, the year Lincoln became President. Martin Foley eventually became shopkeeper in another Foley general store in Red Jacket (Calumet) and . . . — — Map (db m152796) HM
Near Lighthouse Road north of East North Street, on the right when traveling north.
This was the "common anchor" of the Great Lakes. It was used from the beginning of lake navigation until around 1890. The wooden stock is split to receive the shank, and then bolted closed and secured.
This particular anchor was discovered . . . — — Map (db m226589) HM
On Michigan Route 26 at West Main Street, on the right when traveling west on Michigan Route 26.
In Memory of Douglass Houghton Michigan’s first State Geologist Born Sept. 21, 1809 Drowned in Lake Superior off Eagle River, Oct. 13, 1845 Erected by the Keweenaw Historical Society the Home Fortnightly Club the Women’s Clubs and the . . . — — Map (db m181727) HM
On 4th Street at Sand Dunes Drive (State Route 26), on the right when traveling west on 4th Street.
Douglass Houghton, Michigan’s first State Geologist, was born in Troy, New York, on September 21, 1809. He studied under Amos Eaton at the Van Renssaeler Polytechnic School in Troy. In 1828 he graduated and became a professor of chemistry and . . . — — Map (db m181726) HM
On State Highway 26 at West Main Street, on the right when traveling west on State Highway 26.
First settled in the early 1840’s by prospectors looking for copper deposits. Was later the shipping port for the famous Cliff and other nearby copper mines, and was very active in the 1850’s. In 1855 there were two breweries, 32 saloons, and three . . . — — Map (db m152746) HM
Near 4th Street at State Highway 26, on the left when traveling west.
In memory of Joseph Blight, Sr. founder of the Original Lake Superior Safety Fuse Co. Established in 1862 at Eagle River, Michigan Erected 1938 — — Map (db m152749) HM
On State Highway 26 at 4th Street on State Highway 26.
Lake Shore Drive Bridge. This bridge, completed in 1915, was one of two bridges erected simultaneously by the Michigan State Highway Department across the Eagle River. The second was located in nearby Phoenix. Prior to 1915 a Pratt through . . . — — Map (db m106210) HM
On East Main 0.1 miles north of Sand Dunes Drive (State Highway 26), on the left when traveling north.
This bridge, a Pratt pony truss design built in 1909, is currently under a restoration through the efforts of the citizens of this community.
The span – serving social, economic and historic values - was acquired by Houghton Township in 2007 to . . . — — Map (db m198436) HM
On 2nd Street (Gay Lac La Belle Road) east of Lake Street, on the left when traveling east.
A Part of Local History A few workers from Hebbard Lumber and Stone Company established a small lumbering community in the early 1880s. Nestled into the protected east shore of Keweenaw Peninsula, its population remained low, and by 1898, the . . . — — Map (db m153270) HM
On 2nd Street (Gay Lac La Belle Road) east of Lake Street, on the left when traveling east.
Gay was established in 1901, when the Mohawk and Wolverine mining companies each built a stamp mill here to process copper ore from their mines. The area, once known for quarrying, lumbering, and fishing, developed into a booming mill town named for . . . — — Map (db m153268) HM
On U.S. 41 1 mile north of Theilers Road, on the right when traveling north.
During the winter of 1978-79 Keweenaw County established a new snowfall record by tabulating a seasonal total of 390.4 inches of snow. This could be a new record set in the U.S.A. for the entire area east of the Rockies. The monthly tabulations for . . . — — Map (db m152800) HM
