Map of Michigan highlighting Keweenaw County

The following is a list of

Registered Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Keweenaw County, Michigan Keweenaw County (, ; , ) is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, the state's northernmost county. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 2,046, making it Michigan's least populous county. It is also the ...

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Early history

Copper was discovered in the Keweenaw in the 1830s; soon after, the US government built Fort Wilkins near Copper Harbor to maintain order in the area. Keweenaw County was split off from Houghton County in 1861, with the county seat in Eagle River. The early government and commercial buildings in Eagle River are now a Historic District.

Isle Royale Isle Royale National Park is an American national park consisting of Isle Royale – known as Minong to the native Ojibwe – along with more than 400 small adjacent islands and the surrounding waters of Lake Superior, in the state of Michigan. ...

, although split off into its own county in 1875, was reunited with Keweenaw County ten years later, and remains part of the county.

Mining

Like Houghton County to the south, Keweenaw County's history includes much reference to

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

mining. In particular, one of the earliest mines in the area, the prehistoric Minong Mine on Isle Royale, is listed as a historic district. In addition, the

Central Mine Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and its Methodist Church are also listed on the historic register.

Shipping and transportation

However, with the greatest Great Lake,

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

, surrounding the peninsula, and multiple natural harbors, Keweenaw County's history is much more entwined in shipping and transportation. Nineteen of the properties listed—over half—were directly related to Great Lakes shipping. These include nine lighthouses in Lake Superior: Copper Harbor Light, Eagle Harbor Light,

Gull Rock Light Station The Gull Rock Light Station is an active lighthouse located on Gull Rock, just west of Manitou Island (Lake Superior), Manitou Island, off the tip of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior. The light was listed on the National Register ...

Isle Royale Light The Isle Royale Light, or Menagerie Island Light, is a lighthouse within Isle Royale National Park, in Keweenaw County, northern Michigan, United States. Description It is located in Lake Superior on Menagerie Island, the most easterly of the g ...

, Manitou Island Light Station, Passage Island Light, Rock Harbor Light,

Rock of Ages Light The Rock of Ages Light is a U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse on a small rock outcropping () approximately west of Washington Island and west of Isle Royale, in Eagle Harbor Township, Keweenaw County, Michigan (''see map below''). It is an active ...

, and Sand Hills Light. In addition, the wrecks of ten ships around Isle Royale are on the Register: The SS Algoma,

SS America SS ''America'' may refer to: * , a passenger steamer for North German Lloyd, 1863–1894 * , a passenger steamer for Pacific Mail Steamship Company * , a cargo ship that was in Chilean service in 1928, formerly known as the ''George W. Elder''. * ...

, SS Chester A. Congdon, PS Cumberland,

SS Emperor SS ''Emperor'' was a steel-hulled Canadian lake freighter in service between 1911 and 1947. She was built between 1910 and April 1911 by the Collingwood Shipbuilding, Collingwood Shipbuilding Company in Collingwood, Ontario, for Inland Lines, ...

, George M. Cox,

SS Glenlyon The ''Glenlyon'' was a freighter built in 1893; it was sunk off the shore of Isle Royale in Lake Superior in 1924 and the remains are still on the lake bottom. The wreck was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. History ...

SS Henry Chisholm The ''Henry Chisholm'' was a wooden freighter that sank off the shore of Isle Royale in Lake Superior in 1898 and the remains are still on the lake bottom. The wreck was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. History The ' ...

, SS Kamloops, and the SS Monarch. In addition, the listings contain three road bridges built in the 1930s: the M-26–Cedar Creek Culvert, the M-26–Silver River Culvert, and the US 41–Fanny Hooe Creek Bridge. Finally, the Houghton County Traction Company Ahmeek Streetcar Station, an interurban rail station, represents local transportation in the Keweenaw.

Tourism

As the mining industry in the Keweenaw ran down, tourism in the area increased. This was evidenced by the increase in passenger ships (notably the

, mentioned above) and the construction of tourist hotels and summer cottages such as the Johns Hotel, the first resort on Isle Royale, and the

Keweenaw Mountain Lodge and Golf Course Complex The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge and Golf Course Complex is a resort located near Copper Harbor, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1976 listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, and open to the public. ...

, built in 1933–34. Also in the 1930s, the roads accessing the Keweenaw communities were improved, with the addition of bridges such as the US 41–Fanny Hooe Creek Bridge.

Listings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Register Of Historic Places Listings In Keweenaw County, Michigan

Keweenaw County Keweenaw County (, ; , ) is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, the state's northernmost county. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 2,046, making it Michigan's least populous county. It is also the ...