Houghton County Historical Society

Summer is fading into the rear view mirror!! Our schedule for this year has been negatively impacted by the Father's Day flood. See our Calendar page for full details.

September 15th	Open House at the museum. Last day of the season for the museum.
October 10	Volunteer Dinner at the Hut Inn
November 5 7PM	Annual Meeting
October Cancellation	Due to the flood damage, the Ghost Train and Haunted House are CANCELLED.
December 1st	Santa Train

This year has brought many setbacks and a few advances for the Historical Society:

The Father's Day flood inundated our Research Building with water and mud.
With the help of many volunteers, recovery began by relocating objects from the damaged building.
We were grateful to be the recepients of many donations for flood recovery, including those from a GoFundMe page set up by the Historical Society of Michigan. We are now focused on plans to make best use of the damaged building.
With the assistance of the Keweenaw National Historical Park, we have been working with a group of volunteer archivists who are assisting in the identification of remediation steps for damaged items, and in re-inventorying our collections.
As we head toward our Open House in the museum on September 15th, please know that our Museum hours are now Saturdays only.

The Houghton County Historical Museum Complex in Lake Linden was once the site of the largest copper milling operation in North America. Today, it is home to our Museum, and also to the Lake Linden & Torch Lake Railroad, the one room Traprock Valley School House, the WPA era Leo Chaput Log Cabin and the Perl Merrill Research Center (which is our archives and genealogical facility). The HCHS Heritage Center, a former Congregational Church building built in 1887, is just around the corner.

We are located on M-26 in Lake Linden, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Museum building offers three floors of exhibits of local Copper Country mining, logging and cultural history. Included among the outdoor exhibits is a working Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. train with a 3’ gauge Porter steam engine that was used to transport various materials at their mill and smelter sites. The steam train is now used for passenger tours and interpretation of the milling operation.

Open June thru September at variable hours. Our staff is all volunteer so please call ahead. If no one is available to take your call, please leave a message and your call will be returned as soon as possible. Off season tours and field trips can be arranged by calling the museum office at (906) 296-4121

Mission Statement:
The mission of the Houghton County Historical Society is to preserve, present, and interpret the history and culture of the Copper Country of Michigan, with emphasis on Houghton County and copper mining, processing and transportation. The society will pursue this mission through cooperation, collaboration, and participation with the community at large as well as other historical groups.

Welcome to the Houghton County Historical Society