Marquette Regional History Center

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OPEN NOW - Closes at 8:00pm

T he Marquette County History Museum is the oldest Historical Society in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Museum features a collection that includes artifacts from the prehistoric copper culture through contemporary times. Each year, visitors come from all over the world to use the Research Library and view the Museum's exhibition galleries. "We believe the preservation of the cultural and physical history of our area brings an understanding to the past and present, and provides a guide for the future. Marquette County History Museum not only maintains exhibits, artifacts and a research library, it is a forum for engaging the community and creating links between people." Marquette County History Museum is a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1918 by local residents who wished to preserve Marquette County's rich cultural heritage. The Museum was able to purchase the building it now occupies in 1937 through a bequest from the estate of Mrs. Mary B. Longyear. After much renovation, the Museum was officially open to visitors for the first time in 1949. In addition to the permanent dioramas and exhibits, a special exhibit is installed every spring which accentuates an aspect of regional history. The collection has grown so extensively that less than 20% of it can be displayed at once! Looking toward the future, the museum will be renovating and moving to a larger facility in order to continue to grow and preserve the history of Marquette County. This project is called History on the Move . Services/Programming Docents are offered for visiting school groups, and our education programs connect museum visits to classroom experiences. We provide teachers with cultural heritage kits, customized classroom visits by our museum educator and interactive ways to inspire future generations. Our historical marker program has erected interpretive signs throughout Marquette County in partnership with local communities. Our awards program, begun in 1984, fosters awareness in local history by recognizing individuals, businesses and organizations that preserve and enhance local history. Past Award Winners Marquette County History Museum offers an ongoing special event series, open houses with free admission and local entertainment, and satellite exhibits at various locations throughout the county. Our program series makes history come alive for people of all ages through walking tours, lectures and reenactments. Archived newspapers, excellent genealogy resources, and numerous publications are highlights of the Library. Yet, the most important service the museum provides is to act as a repository for oral histories, letters and artifacts which represent the people of this area. Historical manuscripts published through the J.M. Longyear Research Library include the following books: North to Lake Superior, a journal account of the historic trip of Douglass Houghton to determine the geological significance of the region, The Grand Island Story, the history of Grand Island from its earliest known settlements to fur traders, to early missionaries and explorers, and Dandelion Cottage, by Carroll Watson Rankin. These books can be purchased in Museum Store. A quarterly history journal, "Harlow's Wooden Man " is also published. The museum is governed by a Board of Trustees consisting of 12 to 15 members in good standing of the organization. List of Board Members