Western Upper Peninsula

Iron County was originally part of Marquette County. It was first surveyed in 1851 and the area was populated almost exclusively by Native Americans, the Menominee and Ojibwe tribes. The original survey noted that there was presence of iron ore in the area, but it would be more than 20 years before it was mined. It was not until 1875 that European settlers arrived in numbers prospecting for iron ore. The MacKinnon Brothers Arrive The brothers Donald C. and Alexander MacKinnon arrived in April 1878 searching for ore deposits. They acquired land in the area in June of 1878 and… Read More »

Join Northern Michigan History in our 5 part series as we explore the most haunted places in northern Michigan. This is our last installment in the series and we have found our way to the Western Upper Peninsula. Strange lights, actresses that never leave the theater and chainsaws in cemeteries. The western end of the U.P. is not to be messed with! Keweenaw Peninsula Calumet Theater – Legend is that Shakespearean actress, Madame Helena Modjeska who died in 1909 in the theater and that she never left. Lake Breeze – Originally a warehouse built in 1850s by William Raley that… Read More »

In the early 19th century Methodism was not practice west of Sault Ste. Marie. In 1832 Shaw-wun-dais (“sultry heat”) better known as John Sunday a Native American from Canada who become a missionary headed west to Kewawenon (Keweenaw Bay). He settled in the town of Zeba northeast of L’Anse. There he erected a log house to educate other natives about Christianity and the Methodism. John Sunday was a member of the Mississauga Tribe from central upper Canada. He was ordained in 1836 as a minister of the Methodist Church. Him and his wife Mary lost 10 children during the course… Read More »