Copper Country Trail
Eagle Harbor Lighthouse and Museums, MI

The Eagle Harbor Lighthouse was originally built in 1851 to provide navigational assisstance to the ships necessary to the booming copper industry on the Keweenaw Peninsuala. In 1871 the original wooden tower was replaced by the current red brick, and over the years improvements continued to be made to the structure. In 1895, for example, a fog signal was added, and in 1968 the original lens was replaced by modern red and white lights like those used in aviation which could be seen by ships more than 20 miles away!

In 1980, After 129 years and 21 different lighthouse keepers, the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse became automated. The Keweenaw County Historical Society has maintained museums on the site since 1982 and was granted ownership of the lightstation by congress in 1999. Today, the Lighthouse Complex in Eagle Harbor includes three museums: the Maritime Museum in the old fog signal building, the Copper Mining Museum including local/domestic history exhibits in the garage buildings, and a Commercial Fishing Museum in the assistant lightkeeper’s house.