The Feds Seized the U.P.’s Sacred Copper Boulder in 1843. It’s Still in a Smithsonian Storeroom.
The Ontonagon Boulder, a 3,708-pound sacred copper mass that launched the U.P.'s copper boom, was seized in 1843 and hasn't been displayed since 1996.
How the U.P. became the U.P.
History & Culture
People, places, traditions, industries, and turning points that shaped Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Everything in this lane
Newest first. Narrow it to the part of the U.P. you care about.
Lake Superior Nearly Swallowed This Lighthouse. A Retired Couple Refused to Let It.
Crisp Point Lighthouse sits 18 miles down a dirt road on the Shipwreck Coast. It nearly fell into Lake Superior until a retired couple...
There’s a Ghost Forest in the U.P. Where the Trees Never Grew Back
The Kingston Plains near Grand Marais is a U.P. ghost forest: a haunting plain of century-old stumps where logging and fire left a forest...
There’s a Ski Hill on the Tip of the U.P. So Extreme It Has No Beginner Runs
Mount Bohemia on the tip of the Keweenaw is the Midwest's most extreme ski resort: no grooming, no snowmaking, no beginner runs, and the...
The U.P. Has Its Own Snow God, Invented by a Radio DJ to Save a Snowmobile Race
Heikki Lunta is the Upper Peninsula's own snow god, invented in 1970 by a radio DJ to save a snowmobile race. The story behind...
People Keep Smelling Cigar Smoke in This U.P. Lighthouse. The Keeper Died in 1910.
At Seul Choix Point Lighthouse near Gulliver, visitors and staff keep smelling cigar smoke from a keeper who died in 1910. Inside the U.P.'s...
The Only Ski Flying Hill in the Western Hemisphere Is Hidden Outside Ironwood
Copper Peak outside Ironwood is the only ski flying hill in the Western Hemisphere, a steel tower where skiers flew 518 feet. And a...
The Most Yooper Hat on Earth Was Actually Invented in Wisconsin
The Stormy Kromer is the most Yooper hat there is, but it was born in Wisconsin in 1903. How the iconic cap ended up...
Part of the U.P. Has Been an Hour Behind the Rest of Michigan for 50 Years
Most of Michigan runs on Eastern Time. But four counties in the western U.P. have quietly stayed an hour behind on Central Time for...
Why Michigan Has the Upper Peninsula: A Lost War, a Consolation Prize, and a Copper Fortune
Michigan didn't choose the U.P. It got stuck with it. Then it got rich. If you've ever wondered why Michigan has the Upper Peninsula...
The Henry B. Smith Sailed Out of Marquette in 1913 and Vanished With All 25 Men
In November 1913, a single storm tore across the Great Lakes for four days, sank a dozen ships, and killed more than 250 sailors....
Brockway Mountain Drive May Be the Most Beautiful View in the Entire U.P.
From the top of Brockway Mountain, Lake Superior spreads out in front of you in every direction, blue all the way to the horizon....
The Only Time in Michigan History a Prison Warden Was Killed Happened in the U.P.
Inside the movie theatre of the Marquette Branch Prison, a December night in 1921 turned into the darkest chapter in the prison's long history...
Stories appear newest first and keep their original dates, corrections, and source records. Follow the essential history path Corrections policy