Look for this logo which identifies Keweenaw Heritage Sites.
Keweenaw National Historical Park was established to preserve and interpret the story of the rise, domination, and decline of the region’s copper mining industry. Unlike many parks, however, the U.S. Congress legislated that the National Park Service and the park's advisory commission partner with sites owned and operated by state and local governments, private businesses, and nonprofit organizations to achieve this goal. The Keweenaw Heritage Sites program, administered by the Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission, is one aspect of this partnership.
Keweenaw Heritage Sites contain significant cultural and/or natural resources, and make a unique contribution to the copper mining story. 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.
Visiting the Keweenaw Heritage Sites
Keweenaw Heritage Sites operate independently of the National Park Service. Sites stretch along the length of the Keweenaw Peninsula, from the northern tip at Copper Harbor to south of Ontonagon. Hours of operation and admission fees (if applicable) vary from site to site and may change seasonally. Visit a site's website below for more details and the most current information about each site.
The A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum on Michigan Tech's campus.
Visit the official Mineral Museum of Michigan to explore the beauty and splendor of minerals from the Michigan copper-mining district, the Great Lakes Region and around the world.
Location: Michigan Technological University, 1404 E. Sharon Avenue, Houghton
Fees: $8 Adult, $7 Senior (65+), $4 Student (w/ college ID), $3 Junior (Ages 9 – 17), Children 8 & under free.
Visit Adventure Mine and experience rappelling down a mine shaft, underground drilling and blasting workshops, or an easy guided walking tour. We accommodate all ages, skill levels, and interests. Our 90- minute guided tours and 3-hour rappel tours are offered daily. Online pre-booking is encouraged. Walk-ins welcome and offered as staffing allows.
Location: 200 Adventure Avenue, Greenland
Fees: Tours $36 Adults, $16 Children (6 to 12 years old), under 6 free. Contact for rates on other tour options.
Operating Season: Open mid-May to mid-October (Closed Wednesdays after Labor Day)
Hours: 9 am - 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, 11 am - 6 pm on Sunday.
Opened in 1900, this historic opera house offers a variety of theatrical, musical and community events year-round. Two-hour guided tours available. Contact the box office or visit the website for shows and other event information.
Location: 340 Sixth Street, Calumet
Tour Fees: $15 per person, event prices vary
Operating Season: Open year-round
Hours: Tours are seasonally run Tuesday through Saturday at 1 pm. Winter season and private tours may be scheduled by calling the box office.
The Carnegie Museum shows changing exhibits about the area’s cultural and natural history. Founded in 2006, the museum is housed in the former Houghton public library building which was built in 1910.
Location: 105 Huron Street - on the corner of Montezuma Avenue, Houghton
Fees: Free admission, donations appreciated
Operating Season: Open year-round
Hours: 12 pm - 5 pm on Tuesday & Thursday, 12 pm - 4 pm on Saturday (also open Wednesday & Friday from July 5th through Labor Day)
Exhibits follow Chassell’s history from its establishment as a lumber mill community in 1888 to today. A collection of vintage clothing provides a glimpse into people’s lives. Another collection documents the history of strawberry farming and the Chassell Strawberry Festival which will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2023. New in 2023 is an historic interpretive trail on the site of the Sturgeon River Lumber Company and Worcester Lumber Company which is accessible from Centennial Park.
Location: 42373 Hancock Street, Chassell
Fees: Free admission, donations appreciated
Operating Season: Open July and August
Hours: 1 pm - 4 pm on Tuesday & Saturday; 4 pm - 8:30 pm on Thursday
Built in 1898, the historic Red Jacket Fire Station features displays dedicated to the history of fire fighting in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The historic fire trucks appeal to people of all ages.
Housed in the former Calumet and Hecla pattern shop, this museum features exhibits on the former copper mining giant's underground and surface operations.
Location: 25815 Red Jacket Road, Calumet
Fees: $5 Adults, $3 Children (6 to 15 years old), under 6 free; Military Service Free.
Now under the auspices of the Finlandia Foundation National, the Finnish American Heritage Center houses the Finnish American Historical Archive, the Finnish American Folk School, the Martha Wiljanen Community Hall, the Finlandia Gallery, and the offices of The Finnish American Reporter. Regular programming and exhibits highlight Finnish-American culture.
Location: 435 Quincy Street, Hancock
Fees: Free for exhibits, fees for classes and special events.
Operating Season: Open year-round
Hours: 9 am - 4 pm, Monday through Friday; Archive research by appointment only.
Built in 1844 by the U.S. Army, the site now serves as an example of mid-19th century army life on the northern frontier. The park also includes the Copper Harbor Lighthouse (only accessible in the summer by boat), the 1848 light keeper’s house, and interpretive trails. Ranger programs offered June through August as staffing allows.
Herman Hanka settled here with his family after he was injured in a copper mining accident. Volunteers provide guided tours of this 1920s-era Finnish Farm. A self-guided brochure is also available. Call ahead for large groups.
Location: Six miles west of U.S. Highway 41, off Tower Road Pelkie
Fees: $4 Adults, $1 Children ages 13-17, under 13 free.
Explore this seven-building complex, which includes a museum containing artifacts and photographs spanning 100 years, one-room schoolhouse, log cabin, railroad depot, research center, and an operating 1915-era steam locomotive.
Location: 53150 Michigan State Highway 26, Lake Linden
Fees: Free admission, donations appreciated
Operating Season: Open June through September. Call ahead for schedule in October.
The copper mining industry began on the Keweenaw Peninsula in the 1840s. Lake Superior’s unreliable disposition meant that passing ships needed navigational assistance, and in 1851 the original lighthouse was built. The wooden tower which supported a fourth-order Fresnel lens illuminated by an oil lamp soon deteriorated, and in 1871 it was replaced by the present red brick structure. In 1895 a fog signal was added. Since 1982 the Keweenaw County Historical Society has maintained four museums at the light station.
Location: 670 Lighthouse Road, Eagle Harbor
Fees: $8 Adults; children under 16 free
Operating Season: Open mid-June to early October
Operating Hours: 12 pm - 5 pm, daily
Summer hours in July & Aug: 10 am - 5 pm, Mon - Sat; 12 pm - 5pm on Sunday.
One of the most noteworthy historical sites in Keweenaw County is Central, or Central Mine. Central is a village that once was the home for over 1,200 people, and the site of one Keweenaw's most successful mines. The mine, opened in 1854, produced nearly 52 million pounds of copper by the time it closed in 1898.
Location: 7143 Central Road, Phoenix; 5 miles northeast of Phoenix, just north of the intersection with US 41.
Fees: Free admission, donations appreciated
Operating Season: Open mid-June through mid-October
St. Mary’s Church was built in 1858 to serve the Catholic residents in the nearby mining community of Cliff, scene of the area’s first major copper discovery in 1844. Services continued until 1899 when the church was dismantled and reassembled in Phoenix, where it was renamed The Church of the Assumption and served the local community until 1957.
Location: 5581 US Highway 41, Phoenix
Fees: Free admission, donations appreciated
Operating Season: Open mid-June through mid-October
The Keweenaw County Historical Society, Keweenaw National Historical Park, and the community of Eagle River have worked together to develop The Eagle River Museum. The museum focuses on four major themes: 1) The Cliff Mine, 2) the town of Eagle River; 3) the neighboring town and mine of Phoenix, and 4) the amusement area known as Crestview which was located between Phoenix and Eagle River.
Location: 5059 4th Street, Eagle River
Fees: Free admission, donations appreciated
Operating Season: Open mid-June through mid-October
The town of Gay was named for Joseph E. Gay, one of the founders of the nearby Mohawk and Wolverine Mining Companies. The historic school building was built in 1927 and served the local community until it closed in 1961.
Location: The museum is located at the intersection of Lake Street and 2nd Street in the town of Gay, Michigan, about 13 miles east of Lake Linden, MI.
Fees: Free admission, donations appreciated
Operating Season: Open mid-June through mid-October
Hours: 1 pm - 4 pm on Wed & Sat
The building, formerly St. Anne's Church, is now home to the Keweenaw Heritage Center.
Located at the head of downtown Calumet’s commercial district, the Keweenaw Heritage Center, formerly St. Anne’s Church, is a pivotal structure of the Calumet Downtown National Historic Landmark District. Check for dates of performances and concerts featuring the 1899 Barckhoff organ.
Thomas Hoatson Jr., owner of the Calumet & Arizona Mining Company, built this 45-room, 13,000 sq.ft. home in 1908 using the finest and rarest building materials available. Self-guided tours. Lodging available year round.
Location: 320 Tamarack Street, Laurium
Fees: $15 Adults, $10 Children under 18
Operating Season: Open for walk-ins from June to mid-October. Call ahead for appointment during winter season from late October through May.
The Michigan Tech Archives house a wide variety of print, graphic and manuscript resources. The department's holdings include collections from the Quincy Mining Company and Calumet & Hecla Mining Company, and resources on local and university history.
Location: Garden level of the Van Pelt and Opie Library, Michigan Tech, Houghton
Fees: No fees
Operating Season: Open year-round
Hours: By appointment only, 1 pm - 5 pm, Monday through Thursday
Four log cabins built at the Victoria Mine in 1899 served as homes to waves of copper miners and their families. They have been restored at their original remote mining location and give visitors a true feeling of the life faced by copper miners and their families. Guided tours will take you back in time for an hour.
Location: 25401 Victoria Dam Road, Rockland
Fees: Free admission, donations appreciated
Operating Season & Hours: Open mid-June through Labor Day; check social media page for current tour schedule.
The museum features exhibits on area mining, logging, farming, marine, and social memorabilia. The nearby lighthouse is restored and furnished as a Lightkeeper would have used it circa 1915. Tours of the lighthouse are offered daily during summer months.
Location: 422 River Street, Ontonagon
Fees: Lighthouse tours $5 Adults, children free; Museum tours $5 Adults, children free.
Operating Season: Open mid-May to mid-October
Hours: Museum open 10 am - 4 pm, daily. Lighthouse tours 11 am - 3 pm, daily
In addition to wild forests and lakeshore, Michigan's largest state park has numerous historical copper mining sites. The 59,020-acre park offers an array of summer and winter recreational pursuits and interpretive programs.
Location: 15 miles West of Ontonagon on Michigan State Route 107
Painesdale Mine & Shaft offers guided tours of the Champion #4 Shaft-rockhouse – the oldest remaining shaft-rockhouse on the Keweenaw. Tours also include the Hoist House with its historic mine hoist, and the Captain's Office with exhibits that include business records, photographs, and blueprints.
The Copper Range Company operated the Champion #4 for copper production from 1902 until 1967. Once the mine closed, Copper Range turned the mine site over to the Adams Township Water Department to provide water to the surrounding region. By the mid-1990s, when the mine structures were no longer needed by the water department, the entire site was transferred to Painesdale Mine and Shaft for preservation and to share the history of the mine with visitors.
A guided tour of the Champion #4 offers a unique opportunity to learn about shaft-rockhouse operations. The upper-level tour explores the mostly intact rock house with its sorting mechanisms, rock crushers, and steam engine. Come explore the Champion #4 to experience a site largely frozen in time - just how the workers left it in the final days of operation.
Location: 42634 2nd St (Shaft House Road), Painesdale
Fees: $10 Rock House Tours; Free Surface Level Tours; Private Tours can be arranged in advance.
Operating Season: Tours offered on Saturdays from May through October. Our grounds are open for walking year-round during daylight hours.
Take a two-hour, guided walking tour of the Quincy Mine, including the hoist house, ride a cog-rail tram, and enter the mine to learn about mining life. Shorter, surface-only tours are also available.
Location: 49750 U.S. Highway 41, Hancock
Fees: Full tour $35 Adults, $20 Youth/Student w/ ID, Children under 5 free.
Operating Season: Open Memorial Day - Labor Day. Call or check online for winter season schedule.
Quincy Smelting Works, built in 1898, is the oldest and most intact smelter from this time period in the world. The Smelter provides an exceptional opportunity to learn about the machinery, processes, and workers that made Michigan’s copper industry so important to our nation. Visitors can tour the works and learn about the end processes involved in moving copper ore to final product. Tours are run seasonally through the Quincy Mine Hoist Association.
*The Quincy Smelter is owned by the Keweenaw NHP Advisory Commission and operated by heritage site partner Quincy Mine Hoist Association.
Map of the locations of the Keweenaw Heritage Sites and other park locations. This is a copy of the map from the 2024 Keweenaw Guide newspaper. The numbered sites correspond to the locations and information found on pages 4-7.
