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Keweenaw National Historical Park
Keweenaw (pronounced key-wa-naw) National Historical Park is made up of nationally significant sites affiliated with historical copper mining on the Keweenaw Peninsula. In addition to the park's Calumet and Quincy units, the National Park Service also works with partners known as Keweenaw Heritage Sites, which assist in preserving and telling the story of the hard-rock copper mining industry in the Keweenaw region. Keweenaw National Historical Park, along with the heritage sites, illustrates the "historic synergism between the geological, aboriginal, sociological, cultural, technological, and corporate forces that relate the story of copper on the Keweenaw Peninsula." As with other units within the National Park Service system, the park was established "for the education, benefit and inspiration of present and future generations." (excerpted from Public Law 102-543, October 27, 1992, which established Keweenaw National Historical Park).
Congress found the story of copper mining on the Keweenaw Peninsula compelling enough that they deemed it the responsibility of the National Park Service to preserve and interpret its resources for the American people. Three components on Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula were determined to best represent the region's copper mining story: the Village of Calumet, the former properities of the Calumet & Hecla (C&H) Copper Mining Company and the former Quincy Mining Company properties.
The context of the stories inherent to these three components is augmented by the resources of the Keweenaw Heritage Sites. Together, they form a rich tapestry of adventure, discovery and determination. The park and heritage sites reveal the formation of ethnically diverse communities and the industrialization that was the heart and backbone of the United States in the late Nineteenth and early Twentith Century. As you explore the park and its stories, bear in mind the rich heritage that has touched each and every one of us whether we realize it or not. Contemplate the following: • Copper is one of the most important minerals contributing to civilization as we know it. • From the penny in our pocket to the copper wiring in our houses, cars and workplaces, copper is around us at every turn. • From the 1840's to 1968, more than 11 billion pounds of copper were shipped from the Keweenaw Peninsula.
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